Baby minke whale found dead on Llyn Peninsula beach

The body of a baby minke whale has been found washed up on a remote beach by a holiday park.

A holidaymaker out walking spotted the mammal, measuring 7.6m (about 25ft) on Sunday morning in a small cove at Hafan y Mor near Pwllheli, Gwynedd.

Park security staff raised the alarm and the council has secured the area.

A pathologist from London Zoo has carried out a post-mortem examination on the male whale.

Rod Penrose, from the Cetacean Strandings Investigation Programme, said the whale was in a very poor condition, and it probably died on the beach overnight from starvation.

Tests will be carried out by the pathologist.

The whale will have to be towed away in the sea to a different beach for disposal.

Gwynedd maritime officer Barry Davies he was awaiting the results to find out how the whale died. The corpse has already decomposed badly.

The whale will be towed away to another beach

He said strong winds have scuppered plans to move the minke whale on Tuesday and that it will be Wednesday at the earliest before the 25ft long whale is removed from a cove near the Hafan y Mor holiday park.

The minke whale is found in all the seas of the northern hemisphere, often spending the winter in tropical waters and migrating to cooler polar oceans for the rest of the year.

It can grow up to 10.5m (about 34ft 6in) in length and weigh 13 tonnes, with females larger than males.

It is usually solitary, but may be found in groups of two or three, although many minkes may congregate at feeding sites.