The decaying body of an adult male Sperm whale washed up on a Lincolnshire beach is causing a smelly problem for local officials.
The 10.7m/35' whale came ashore with the tide at Skegness seafront on Saturday (March 3) and immediately became a source of great interest locally, with hundreds of people gathering at the scene to view the deceased deep sea leviathan.
However it appears that the whale had been dead for days before coming to rest on the beach, and now local officials have decided a malodorous marine mammal's rotting remains might not be what's needed to attract visitors to the popular seaside resort.
As a result East Lindsey District Council has decided to cover the 30 tonne carcass with sand to try and reduce the pungent pong while they arrange for its removal and safe disposal in the next few days.
It's not known how the luckless cetacean met its demise, but before its sandy burial onlookers reported seeing deep gashes on its back, causing some to speculate it may have died after a collision with a ship at sea.
The Sperm whale (Physeter macrocephalus) is the largest species of toothed whale in the world, with adult males growing to over 18m/59' long. They have an extensive worldwide distribution being found in all the world's deep oceans, but the North Sea is not a good home for them as its relatively shallow waters do not contain suitable prey species. This means any Sperm whales straying into this area can become prone to malnutrition and dehydration unless they can navigate their way back to the deeper, food rich waters of the Atlantic.
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