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Contractors remove dead whales from Skegness beach Contractors remove dead whales from Skegness beach
(about 11 hours later)
Work has begun to remove three dead whales that have washed up on the Lincolnshire coast. Three dead whales that washed up on the Lincolnshire coast have been removed.
Three whales, each weighing 30 tonnes, were found on the beach at Skegness at the weekend. One “exploded” when scientists cut it open, leaving two to be disposed of in a somewhat depressing fashion. The operation was expected to take between six and eight hours, but in the end it was over by 1.30am.
The trio are believed to be part of the same pod as others found in Hunstanton, Norfolk, and Wainfleet in Lincolnshire. The strandings – the biggest sperm whale stranding off the English coast since records began in 1913 – have drawn thousands of tourists to Skegness since the weekend. Workers spent Tuesday moving the creatures and covering them with sand ahead of their removal. Contractor Jan Smith the operation had gone more smoothly than expected. “It’s gone very well really. The last one where the flaps had been cut open for the autopsy was hard work.
The operation is expected to take between six and eight hours. The contractor, Jan Smith, said the whales would be taken to landfill sites in Didcot, Oxfordshire, and Sheffield. He said: “It will be a tricky job and I’ll be glad when it’s over.” “You can’t really plan what you are going to do because you don’t know if they are likely to blow up or something. All that you can do is treat them with the utmost respect.”
The whales would be taken to landfill sites in Didcot, Oxfordshire, and Sheffield.
Related: Sperm whales stranded in UK may be part of beached German and Dutch podsRelated: Sperm whales stranded in UK may be part of beached German and Dutch pods
The process will see the whales rolled over, placed into a tarpaulin, lifted on to a low-loader and driven away. Fourteen people will be involved in the disposal, Smith said. He added that he was part of the team that removed awhale from the beach near Skegness pier in 2012. The whales were rolled over, placed into a tarpaulin, lifted on to a low-loader and driven away. Fourteen people were involved in the disposal, Smith said. He added that he was part of the team that removed awhale from the beach near Skegness pier in 2012.
Smith said the whales would be manoeuvred on to the low-loaders with the help of a bulldozer, and told BBC Look North why the operation was planned to take place overnight: “From a health and safety point of view and public hygiene, we just think it would be far easier to do it at night when there’s not a lot of people about,” he said. Smith said told BBC Look North why the operation was planned to take place overnight: “From a health and safety point of view and public hygiene, we just think it would be far easier to do it at night when there’s not a lot of people about,” he said.
It would be a “fairly tricky job”, he said, due to the difficulty in manoeuvring the animals without further damaging the bodies.
Scientists who examined the whales found that they had been beached while alive and died after entering shallow North Sea waters in the hunt for food.Scientists who examined the whales found that they had been beached while alive and died after entering shallow North Sea waters in the hunt for food.
Tests are expected to examine whether they were from the same pods as sperm whales that had washed up on the coasts of Germany and the Netherlands in the past fortnight.Tests are expected to examine whether they were from the same pods as sperm whales that had washed up on the coasts of Germany and the Netherlands in the past fortnight.
One of the Skegness whale bodies “exploded” when pathologists cut it open. Rob Deaville, project manager at the UK Cetacean Strandings Investigation Programme, a Defra-funded group that investigates whale deaths, said the quickly decomposing state of the carcasses made it “much harder to gain any pathologically useful information”.One of the Skegness whale bodies “exploded” when pathologists cut it open. Rob Deaville, project manager at the UK Cetacean Strandings Investigation Programme, a Defra-funded group that investigates whale deaths, said the quickly decomposing state of the carcasses made it “much harder to gain any pathologically useful information”.
According to Deaville, their investigations found little in the whales’ intestines apart from “some squid beaks and some little fragments of plastic”. He said this suggested the whales died when the weight of their own bodies caused their internal organs to collapse.According to Deaville, their investigations found little in the whales’ intestines apart from “some squid beaks and some little fragments of plastic”. He said this suggested the whales died when the weight of their own bodies caused their internal organs to collapse.
There was controversy after anti-nuclear activists sprayed two of the dead whales with graffiti. The message “Fukushima RIP – man killed me” was daubed in white paint along the back of one, and “CND” was sprayed on the tail of another.There was controversy after anti-nuclear activists sprayed two of the dead whales with graffiti. The message “Fukushima RIP – man killed me” was daubed in white paint along the back of one, and “CND” was sprayed on the tail of another.
James Gilbert, of East Lindsey district council, said it was “very unfortunate” that activists had targeted the dead whales. “It’s incredibly sad to graffiti such a beautiful animal,” he said.James Gilbert, of East Lindsey district council, said it was “very unfortunate” that activists had targeted the dead whales. “It’s incredibly sad to graffiti such a beautiful animal,” he said.