Critically Endangered 55ft Fin Whale Found Dead On Rocks At Lynmouth Devon UK

Fins Whales are the second largest living mammal on the planet and critically endangered.

Tragically today one of these beautiful gentle giants was found washed up dead on the rocks of local Devon beauty spot Lynmouth, UK,

The extraordinary 55ft Fin Whale was discovered at 8.30am this morning after a call was put in to Swansea Coastguard telling of its whereabouts.

The giant mammal is believed to have been dead for at least a day.

Usually the Fin Whale is found in the Southern Hemisphere but smaller groups have been known to live in the North Atlantic.

The beautiful coastal area of Pembrokeshire, West Wales, UK, is home to a large group of rare Fin Whales.

A 55ft Dead Fin Whale Was Found Washed Up On The Rocks at Lynmouth Devon UK Today

The globally endangered mammal can grow up to 85ft in length and weigh a staggering 80 tonnes.

One of the first people to witness the tragic dead body of the Fin Whale was former Station Officer at Lynmoth Coastguard Station Andy Cleverdon along with two medics with the British Divers Marine Life Rescue Organisation, Heidi and David Harding:

“I have looked at the records over the years and I am pretty sure that this is the first stranding of a whale in more than 20-years on the Lynmouth beaches and rocks.

“It is difficult to tell whether the whale was still alive or already dead when it became stranded.

“We were able to identify it through certain characteristics and the first thoughts were that it was a female, but it was fairly battered through contact with the rocks.

“It is a sad sight”, said Andy Cleverdon.

The Fin Whale’s diet consists of squid, schooling fish and crustaceans by diving to lengths of more than 6ooft  making huge gulps by opening its huge jaws on each dive to consume around 22lb of food, consuming in an average of 4,000  lb (1,800)  food every day.

This incredible creature reaches full maturity at approximately 25-30 years.

The second largest mammal on the planet weighs in at birth 1.8 tonnes, stretching 21ft, and is possible to survive gracing the world’s oceans for 94 years.