Mystery as huge white whale washes up on sharp rocks of Devon shore
Passers-by spotted the whale beached on Hartland Quay on Wednesday afternoon
A MASSIVE white whale has washed up on a Devon beach.
The dead mammal - thought to be a baleen whale - was first spotted around 4pm yesterday at Hartland Quay, in North Devon.
British Divers Marine Life assistant coordinator Cheryl Dan Duerden shared pictures of the tragic beast on Facebook.
She wrote: "Back from a British Divers Marine Life (BDMLR) call out this evening to check on a whale that washed up on Hartland Quay.
"Exceptionally foggy drive and not the easiest access through slippery jagged rocks in the dark, but someone's gotta do it!
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"Unfortunately it was dead, possibly awhile ago, 9-10 metres at least and suspected small fin whale or large minke whale.
"Very sad to see it flopped over and lodged amongst the rocks and blood in the rockpools, but to see a whale in its entirety is still pretty awesome."
Sarah Stafford, manager of the Hartland Quay Hotel and Pub, said: "We have reported it to the Government on their specialist whale and dolphin hotline."It's huge but it's definitely dead. We think it's a baleen whale."
It's not clear what caused the Whale to die, and whether it was alive when it was washed ashore.
The council will wait to see if the whale is washed back into the sea during high tide.
Stephen Marsh of the British Divers Marine Life Rescue said "We'd advise people not to get too close the animal and dogs especially can get very ill, very quickly if they manage to eat any of the carcass."
A whale made international headlines this month when it washed up on a Philippines beach.
It's decomposition gave it the strange appearance of a bizarre hairy blob-like monster.
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