Dead dolphin found on Weymouth beach to be examined

The young male dolphin was found at Bowleaze Cove beach at Weymouth yesterday

An investigation is to be carried out after a young dolphin was found dead on a beach.

The male, short-beaked common dolphin was discovered at Weymouth's Bowleaze Cove in Dorset on Sunday.

Dorset Wildlife Trust said the Natural History Museum would collect the carcass for examination on Monday.

The trust's Sarah Hodgson said: "There are many reasons why these animals die - as a result of human activity, pollution or just natural causes."

The Natural History Museum will carry out a post-mortem on the male juvenile

Luke Webb, who was visiting Dorset from Wiltshire, spotted the dolphin while walking along the beach with his family.

"There were a couple of people trying to help it back into the sea - I think they thought it was just stranded and still alive but it wasn't," he said, adding: "It was really sad."

He said there were no signs of decomposition or markings on the mammal.

Dorset Wildlife Trust reported the death to the Natural History Museum's Cetacean Strandings Investigation Programme (CSIP) and said because the 1.4m (4.5ft) long carcass was "very fresh" it could carry out a post-mortem examination to determine the likely cause of death.

The Natural History Museum has been approached for comment.