Risso's dolphin washes up in Great Yarmouth

A dolphin has been found washed up on a beach in Norfolk.

HM Coastguard Gorleston said it believed the creature, found on Great Yarmouth South Beach, was a Risso's dolphin.

A dolphin pod had been observed off Great Yarmouth on Friday, the coastguard said on social media.

Measurements of the dolphin and other details will be passed on to the Natural History Museum, so it can determine how the creature came to die.

According to Whales.org, Risso's dolphins are "an unusual species that has not been well studied, mainly due to their preference for deep, oceanic waters".

Generally seen in groups of between 10 and 50 animals, they are often left scarred by their major prey item of squid.

Whales.org said it was normal for the species to be found in temperate waters, such as those off the British coast.