Whale of a load: Bizarre sight of 45ft mammal transported by lorry to landfill site after being washed up on Scottish beach



30-tonne whale found at Portobello beach in Edinburgh on Saturday



Towed to Burntisland, Fife, then driven to an animal facility in Dunbar

Huge carcass will now be disposed of as landfill at the seaside town

It's certainly an unusual sight to see a 30-tonne sperm whale being transported by lorry - but this unfortunate mammal that washed up on a beach is on its way to be buried as landfill.



The 45ft whale was found at Portobello beach in Joppa, Edinburgh, on Saturday and towed to Burntisland, Fife, before being driven to a Scottish Marine Animal Stranding Scheme facility.

An examination was carried out at the facility in Dunbar, East Lothian, to determine its cause of death - and the whale’s huge carcass will now be disposed of as landfill at the seaside town.

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On the road: The 45ft mammal was driven to a Scottish Marine Animal Stranding Scheme facility in Dunbar Probe: A marine rescue worker photographs the whale that washed up on an Edinburgh beach on Saturday

Dunbar Community Council chairman Stephen Bunyan said: ‘My son told me about it coming to Dunbar and we both wondered why they were bringing it here.

‘But if it is going to landfill, I imagine they have brought an expert to carry out tests. I’ve never heard of it happening before, but I suppose it (makes) sense. What else are you going to do with a whale?’

Teams from Police Scotland, the Scottish SPCA, Whale and Dolphin Conservation and British Divers Marine Life Rescue (BDMLR) were at the scene as crowds gathered to see the stricken mammal.

Experts believe it died after being struck by boat propellers in deeper water, although it will be weeks before the official cause of death is confirmed.

Investigation: Experts believe it died after being struck by boat propellers in deeper water, although it will be weeks before the official cause of death is confirmed

Onlookers: Teams from Police Scotland, the Scottish SPCA, Whale and Dolphin Conservation and British Divers Marine Life Rescue were at the scene as crowds gathered to see the stricken mammal

Corinne Gordon, a marine mammal medic with BDMLR, was part of the team to examine the whale, which suffered deep cuts around its mouth and to its dorsal fin.

'What else are you going to do with a whale?' Stephen Bunyan, Dunbar Community Council chairman

She said: ‘One of our experts, Dr Andrew Brownlow, came down to carry out an examination and took samples to establish a cause of death.

‘It will be quite a while before the results come back, but we believe it has been hit by propellers of a boat. Fully-grown male sperm whales can reach up to 20 metres (65ft), so he wasn’t a full adult.’

Last year a pod of 14 sperm whales was spotted near the Firth of Forth. They are usually found in deeper waters off the North and West of Scotland towards the Atlantic, where they hunt squid.

Dead: The 45ft, 30-tonne sperm whale suffered deep cuts around its mouth and to its dorsal fin

Location: The 45ft mammal was found at Portobello beach in Joppa, Edinburgh, on Saturday morning

A pod of 26 pilot whales washed up in a beaching further up the east coast in Pittenweem, Fife, in 2012.

'We believe it has been hit by propellers of a boat. Fully-grown male sperm whales can reach up to 20 metres (65ft), so he wasn’t a full adult' Corinne Gordon, marine mammal medic

Ten survived and were re-floated, but rescuers had to winch the carcasses of 13 whales to the top of cliffs at the Fife beach to dispose of them after they died.

The sperm whale, or cachalot, is the largest of the toothed whales and the largest toothed predator.

Mature males average around 52ft in length, with the head representing up to one-third of the animal’s length - while females are smaller, growing to about 42ft long.