'Very rare' whale found dead on beach

Devon Wildlife Trust said the rare pygmy sperm whale was found dead at Bigbury

A "very rare" species of whale has been found dead on a beach, a wildlife trust has said.

Devon Wildlife Trust (DWT) said the pygmy sperm whale, which was about 11ft-13ft (3.5m-4m) long, was found dead at Bigbury on Sea on Monday.

The trust said it was rarely seen alive in UK waters and there was "only a handful" of strandings since records by the Cetacean Strandings Investigation Programme (CSIP) started in the 1990s.

Tom Miller, British Divers Marine Life Rescue (BDMLR) mammal medic, said a local landowner and farmer helped lift the animal from the rocks with a tractor, on to a trailer and up to a secure location, where it would be collected by CSIP on Wednesday.

The CSIP, based at Zoological Society of London, hoped to carry out an autopsy to find the cause of death of the "magnificent creature", the trust said.

"As their name suggests, pygmy sperm whales are much smaller than true sperm whales, only reaching a maximum size of around four metres.

"They have only been recognized as a species since 1966.

"They are so rare, very little is known about them, but it is thought that they eat a variety of fish, octopus, crab and shrimp."

Marine engagement officer Coral Smith said it was incredibly sad to see

It added: "They are usually found in warm, deep water but have been spotted in all temperate subtropical and tropical seas."

Marine engagement officer Coral Smith said: "This is a very rare stranding indeed, with only a handful occurring in UK waters since CSIP began recording.

"Although incredibly sad to see such a magnificent and rare mammal, this incident highlighted the brilliant partnership working between BDMLR and Devon Wildlife Trust volunteers.

"It shows the huge value that local people in local communities can play in marine citizen science and conservation."

Sarah and her son Osain were surfing at Bigbury when they heard about the whale

Sarah and her 11-year-old son Osian, from Dorset, were surfing at Bigbury when they were told about the whale stranding.

"It was kind of wedged in some rock pools," she said.

"It was quite a calm atmosphere. The farmers turned up in their wellies and really calmly worked out how to get the whale out without any fuss.

"I think everybody was sad to see it but also fascinated to see this amazing creature... you would rather see them swimming free.

Osian said: "It was sad to see a dead whale but i think it was also interesting."

The farmer told them the whale weighed about 700kg which was about the size of a bull.