09 October 2011 

Cornwall Wildlife Trust Marine Strandings Network (MSN) have put out an appeal for more photos of an unusual cetacean that stranded on the beach at Penzance at the weekend. They believe it is be a rare, dwarf sperm whale (Kogia sima) but have, so far, only received photos and video of the animal in the sea, which makes identification more difficult.

"We've been sharing the pictures we've received with cetacean experts, but without photos of the whole animal, we couldn't be 100% sure it is a dwarf sperm whale ", says MSN Coordinator Jan Loveridge. "It stranded alive on the beach and was unfortunately put back in the sea by well-meaning members of the public before British Divers Marine Life Rescue arrived to assist. We hope that someone took photos of it then. If it is that species, it's the first of its kind ever to be recorded in the UK, according to the Defra-funded UK Cetacean Strandings Investigation Programme."

Anyone who took photos or video is asked to kindly send them to the MSN via records@cwtstrandings.org. The Network is also keen to hear of any stranded animals that wash ashore.

"Local people described blood in the sea around the whale when it was close in shore, although this species is known to expel a large quantity of reddish-brown fluid when threatened, much like a squid, so that is one explanation", continues Jan Loveridge. "However, we believe it was injured and sadly it's unlikely to survive, so we welcome any calls about stranded marine animals in Cornwall to our Hotline on 0845 201 2626."

"Hopefully we can retrieve it and send it to the Animal Health and Veterinary Laboratories Agency in Truro for post-mortem examination. Very little is known about these animals so it would be a hugely important boost to our understanding of these little, deep-diving whales."