A dead whale that washed up on a beach in East Yorkshire has been moved on to a truck to be disposed of.
The 55ft fin whale got into difficulties in the sea at Bridlington earlier this week and died on Tuesday.
Work got under way on Friday morning to move the carcass from the area, the local council said, with contractors aiming do this without having to cut up the 30-tonne mammal.
In the afternoon, a spokesperson for East Riding of Yorkshire Council, said: “We have now managed to move the whale’s body off the beach and on to a truck, strapped it down and carried it up a slipway.
“It will now be covered over and moved away from Bridlington in the next few hours.”
The local authority praised the contractors and council staff for their efforts over the past few days.
The spokesperson added: “This has been an incredibly challenging and difficult operation – the largest of its kind we’ve ever dealt with.
“This was a really sad incident for all involved. The whale was about 17m long and weighed around 25-30 tonnes.
“The body will now be taken away by our contractors to be disposed of.”
The site became a macabre tourist attraction, with people reportedly taking selfies.
A cordon was put in place and people were urged to stay away from the whale for health reasons and “out of respect”.
The council said it was liaising with zoological experts to establish the cause of the incident.
Meanwhile in Scotland, a humpback whale that washed up at a loch in the Scottish Highlands is believed to have died after becoming entangled in creel lines.
The mammal’s carcass was discovered on a sandbank at Loch Fleet National Nature Reserve earlier this week.
A spokesperson for Scottish Marine Animal Stranding Scheme told Sky News: “It was a juvenile female humpback whale and an initial examination would indicate it died due to entanglement in creel lines.”
Entanglements in fishing gear and marine debris can have both welfare and conservation impacts on marine animals, causing injury, impairment and death.
In 2021, NatureScot reported that entanglement was the largest identified cause of death due to human activity in minke and humpback whales in Scottish waters.
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Responsibility for disposing of the whale will rest with Highland Council if it is less than 25ft in length.
The local authority said it will consider all suitable disposal options if required, including taking it to landfill or burying it on the beach.
