Whilst undertaking an ecotourism whale and dolphin trip recently,the Biscay Dolphin Research Programme encountered a large dead whale, close to the shipping lanes in the English Channel.

Although further investigation is needed, the animal was reported to be a sperm whale, the largest toothed whale species on the planet, known to grow to 20 metres in length and diving to incredible depths in search of their prey, giant squid species.

The reason for the animal's demise was unclear, but whatever the reason, the whale had most likely been carried into the Channel from the Atlantic by the action of strong tides, where it could pose a threat to shipping and may need to be sunk or brought ashore. Stranding records for sperm whale do occur annually, but these are normally in Scotland and along the North Sea East coast of England, if it is a dead Sperm whale, its presence in the English Channel, would be a rare occurrence.

Like all large whale species, sperm whale numbers were drastically depleted as a result of whaling and still face threats today, including ship strike, entanglement in fishing nets, pollution and damage from high frequency sonar.

source/image copyright: BDRP