A pregnant whale has been found dead on a beach in the Scottish islands of Orkney with the remains of abandoned fishing gear entangled in its mouth.

The minke whale was pregnant with a female calf, according to experts from the Scottish Marine Animal Stranding Scheme (Smass).

A lost nylon fishing net – of the type of discarded fishing apparatus known as “ghost gear” when found drifting at sea – was found stuck in the whale’s baleen, the plates in its mouth used to filter seawater.

The dead animal, which subsequent examination found had been in good health before encountering the net, was found on Sanday, one of the larger inhabited islands in east Orkney.

Representatives for Smass assessed its carcass, concluding: “The animal was in excellent body condition and pregnant with a mid-term foetus.

Whale intelligence continues to be underestimated Show all 13 1 /13 Whale intelligence continues to be underestimated Whale intelligence continues to be underestimated Mom and calf humpback whales make their way toward the surface in Tonga. Getty Images Whale intelligence continues to be underestimated salto della megattera durante whale watching in islanda, salto della balena, incredibile Getty Images/iStockphoto Whale intelligence continues to be underestimated An aerial photo of humpback whales in a pod Getty Images/iStockphoto Whale intelligence continues to be underestimated Humpback mother and calf, with a snorkeler, in Tonga. Getty Images/iStockphoto Whale intelligence continues to be underestimated Humpback Whale breaching out of water in the morning light in Iceland Getty Images/iStockphoto Whale intelligence continues to be underestimated humpback whales playing on surface in the blue between Tahiti and Moorea Getty Images/iStockphoto Whale intelligence continues to be underestimated A beached grey whale which died after an effort by local fishermen to pull her back out to sea. San Juanico, Baja California Sur, Mexico. Getty Images/iStockphoto Whale intelligence continues to be underestimated White Beluga Whale is looking at the camera from underwater. Getty Images/iStockphoto Whale intelligence continues to be underestimated An orca chases herrings on January 17, 2019, in the Reisafjorden fjord region, near the Norwegian northern city of Tromso in the Arctic Circle. (Photo by Olivier MORIN / AFP) (Photo credit should read OLIVIER MORIN/AFP/Getty Images) AFP/Getty Images Whale intelligence continues to be underestimated TOPSHOT - An orca chases herrings on January 14, 2019, in the Reisafjorden fjord region, near the Norwegian northern city of Tromso in the Arctic Circle. (Photo by Olivier MORIN / AFP) (Photo credit should read OLIVIER MORIN/AFP/Getty Images) AFP/Getty Whale intelligence continues to be underestimated A Humpback whale jumps in the surface of the Pacific Ocean at the Uramba Bahia Malaga National Natural Park in Colombia, on August 12, 2018. - Humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) migrate annually from the Antarctic Peninsula to peek into the Colombian Pacific Ocean coast, with an approximate distance of 8,500 km, to give birth and nurse their young. Humpback whales have a life cycle of 50 years or so and is about 18 meters long. (Photo by Miguel MEDINA / AFP) (Photo credit should read MIGUEL MEDINA/AFP/Getty Images) AFP/Getty Images Whale intelligence continues to be underestimated A Humpback whale jumps in the surface of the Pacific Ocean at the Uramba Bahia Malaga National Natural Park in Colombia, on August 12, 2018. - Humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) migrate annually from the Antarctic Peninsula to peek into the Colombian Pacific Ocean coast, with an approximate distance of 8,500 km, to give birth and nurse their young. Humpback whales have a life cycle of 50 years or so and is about 18 meters long. (Photo by Miguel MEDINA / AFP) (Photo credit should read MIGUEL MEDINA/AFP/Getty Images) AFP/Getty Images Whale intelligence continues to be underestimated A whale surfaces on July 8, 2018 just east of Montauk, New York in the Block Island Sound. Getty Images

“It looked like it had become recently entangled in a section of discarded or lost fishing net – this had become jammed in the baleen and then dragged behind the animal. This would have hugely impaired the animal from feeding or swimming normally, and likely led to an exhausting last few hours of life. Based on the flank bruising and lungs, it appears this creature live stranded and drowned in the surfline.”

Writing on Facebook, Smass warned abandoned fishing gear poses a deadly threat to cetaceans.

“Entanglement in nets and fishing lines is a growing global concern and this case highlights that entanglement risk in these species is not just from rope – lost, abandoned or discarded nets also represent a significant hazard to marine life,” the organisation said.

“In this case, entanglement cost the lives of two animals – the mother and her unborn, female calf. This further demonstrates why such interactions can be both tragic at an individual level and potentially a risk to the population. Of course there are situations where gear is lost by accident of misfortune, but, where it isn’t, there is just no excuse for wilfully throwing this stuff overboard.”

The death of the whale follows a better outcome for another whale also caught in fishing nets off the coast of Orkney the same week.

In that case a humpback whale was accidentally caught, and the fisherman alerted a rescue team who successfully disentangled the animal.