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Beached whale in Cornwall had no plastic in stomach

Rob Deaville Drone of whaleRob Deaville
A team has examined the whale that washed up on a beach

A whale that beached and died on a remote cove did not have any plastic in its stomach, tests have found.

The 19.25m (63ft) fin whale was alive when it was found on Parbean Cove on the Lizard in Cornwall on 14 February.

A post-mortem examination found "there was no evidence of recent feeding and the stomachs were completely empty - no plastics or marine debris were found in the gastrointestinal tract".

The whale is now the responsibility of the Duchy of Cornwall.

The Marine Strandings Network said the animal was a young adult female and "the reason for her malnutrition is currently not clear".

Further tests are being carried out on samples that were taken by the team from the Cetacean Strandings Investigation Programme (CSIP).

Whale
The whale had been swimming nearby earlier that day

A large amount of fluid was found in the whale's chest, which the CSIP said "may be of significance".

The Duchy of Cornwall said it was "currently investigating a plan to remove the remains in a sensitive and effective way, to be implemented in the coming days".