Animal experts were left perplexed after the carcass of a juvenile Humpback whale was discovered inland, in a remote mangrove swamp near the mouth of the Amazon river.

The animal, measuring 36ft (11 metres), was hidden in the undergrowth a short distance from the shoreline in the forest of the northern Brazilian state of Para. It took two separate attempts by workers from the department of health, sanitation and environment (Semma) to reach the whale, which was only discovered because of the scavenging birds circling overhead.

Conservationists from the Bicho d'Agua Institute, who were also present, believe the humpback whale to be a 12 month-old calf that got separated from its mother, before being launched ashore by high tides during a storm.