Thirty-foot whale that died after becoming stranded in a Welsh estuary was a year-old male calf that had struggled to find food, autopsy reveals

• Fin whale, named Henry, had no signs of recent eating in his stomach suggesting he was in poor health
• Youngster had likely just been weaned from his mother and become independent when he became stranded
• Whale was first stranded in the Dee estuary, North Wales, on June 12 before beaching at least twice again

A 30ft-long whale that died after it became stranded in a Welsh estuary was a one-year-old male calf that was struggling to find food, an autopsy has revealed.

The fin whale, named Henry by rescuers, is thought to have been recently weaned by his mother and started to live independently - as they stop receiving milk at around six to seven months old - before becoming beached.

The young male died on the sands of the Dee Estuary, North Wales, on June 14. He had beached at least twice over the previous two days. 

A post-mortem was carried out by the Cetacean Strandings Investigation Programme (CSIP) to identify the cause of death and find out why the whale ended up out of the sea.

The fin whale, named Henry by rescuers, had no evidence of a recent meal inside his stomach. He was around a year old, which is the age where calves are weaned from their mothers and start to live independently

After he stranded in the Dee estuary, North Wales, on June 14 rescuers brought his corpse up the beach for an autopsy

A large crane was also used to haul the carcass away from the shoreline. The experts concluded the calf was in 'moderate-poor nutritional condition' when he died. He was first rescued on June 12 before beaching again

Experts said the calf was in 'moderate-poor nutritional condition' and inside the stomach there was 'no evidence' of recent feeding. The investigators also said they did not find any marine debris or plastic inside the whale. 

An infestation of parasites in the kidneys, stomach, intestines and blubber was also identified.

'The findings from the gross examination are currently considered to be consistent with live stranding of a nutritionally compromised and out-of-habitat individual,' said CSIP.Experts have collected further samples from the carcass for analysis, in order to shed more light on why this individual died and became beached. 

The post-mortem examination took place on the beach after the carcass was lifted away from the shoreline by a large crane. It was laid out on a blue tarpaulin. 

The whale pictured laid out on a tarpaulin matt. Samples from the body have also been sent for analysis in a lab

Workers first stripped away the whale's blubber so that they could inspect the stomach and other internal organs

Pictured above is a workman stripping away the blubber. After the autopsy, the Cetaceans Strandings Investigation Programme said: 'The findings from the gross examination are currently considered to be consistent with live stranding of a nutritionally compromised and out-of-habitat individual'

To study the carcass, experts checked the external body for signs of damage before removing the blubber layer and examining the stomach contents.

The fin whale became stranded late on June 13 on a sand bank near the Dee estuary on the outgoing tide, and then beached again the next morning.

The British Divers Marine Life Rescue (BDMLR), who co-ordinated the rescue effort, said at the time:'Sadly, though expected, there appear to be no signs of life left.'

The whale had first become stranded in the Dee estuary on June 12, and rescuers were initially positive. 

When it was refloated on the tide, the animal spent some time reorientating itself before circling the rescue boat and heading out to open water.

'We are cautiously optimistic that this has been a successful re-float of the young fin whale, and we would ask people in the local region to please keep an eye out over the weekend as it may well remain in the area,' said BDMLR at the time.

The whale is pictured above after re-stranding on June 13. Rescuers rushed forward to provide the animal with first aid

The whale had initially become stranded on June 12 and was successfully re-floated. It swam out to sea on the rising tide

However, by the next morning it was stranded again. Rescuers rushed forward to cover its body with sheets and pour water over it to keep it alive, before trying to help it back to the sea. 

'Due to the size and weight of the animal and the geography of the area, it is not possible to get the animal closer to the water to help relieve the pressure on its body,' they said.

'Dragging the animal by its tail will cause significant injuries and is not an option. As we mentioned yesterday, putting the animal to sleep is also incredibly difficult for a variety of reasons related to size too.

'We are saddened to say that the outlook today is looking less positive than yesterday.'

What are fin whales and are they found in UK waters?

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A beached fin whale being circled by sharks in Cheynes, Australia

Next to the blue whale, the fin whale is the second largest mammal in the world. 

They have a distinct ridge along their back behind the dorsal fin, which gives it the nickname 'razorback'. Fin whales have a very unusual feature: the lower right jaw is bright white and the lower left jaw is black.

Extensive hunting of the fin whale means that they are listed as globally endangered and near threatened in Europe. 

Normally, fin whales can be found in all of the major seas and favour cooler waters. They try to avoid swimming in tropical or arctic waters though.

Fin whales are a rare sight in the British Isles but are most commonly sighted off of Scotland's northern coast and are less commonly spotted around the rest of the country.

Typically staying away from shallower waters, it is unknown why fin whales have been found stranded on some British coasts in recent years. 

Heartbreaking whale strandings in the United Kingdom 

Sperm whale, Thames estuary, February 2019

A beleaguered sperm whale died three days after it swam up the Thames estuary and was unable to escape.

The desperate animal also ended up stranded at times, as the level of the tidal river shifted, before it was pronounced dead by rescuers on February 1 this year.

The whale, which is usually found in deep water, had appeared confused and had been regularly changing direction as it swam off the Swale in north Kent.

Its body was taken for examination by the Cetacean Stranding Investigation Program so they could try to establish why the ocean going animal had come into the Thames.

The sperm whale stuck off the Swale, north Kent, died after becoming stuck in the tidal river for three days. The animal also became stranded at times when the tidal river's level dropped, said rescuers 

The sperm whale marooned in the mudflats (pictured above). Its body was taken for examination to establish why it had stranded

Sperm Whale, Scotland, December 2019

A sperm whale died after it washed up in Scotland with a 220lb ball of fishing nets, plastic cups, plastic bags and other litter inside its stomach.

The 45-foot-long leviathan's corpse, which was found on Seilebost beach on the Isle of Harris, Outer Hebridies, also contained rope, gloves, packing straps and tubing.

'All this material was in a huge ball in the stomach and some of it looked like it had been there for some time,' a spokesman from rescue group Scottish Marine Animals Stranding Scheme said.

However, it is thought the cause of death was the animal becoming disorientated during storms before becoming stranded. Sperm whales dive to great depths to eat squid and are known to accidentally eat plastic after mistaking it for their prey of choice.

The sperm whale died after becoming stranded on Seilebost beach, Isle of Harris, Outer Hebridies, Scotland, during a major storm

It had a 220lb ball of human waste in its stomach while included rope, gloves, packing straws, fishing nets, plastic cups and plastic bags 

Fin whale and Humpback whale, Thames, October 2019

A fin whale and a humpback whale were found dead in the Thames estuary within ten days of each other in a 'completely bizarre coincidence'.

The 27-foot-long baby humpback, nicknamed Hessy, was found floating in the Thames on October 10 after a ship-strike left her with catastrophic injuries to her jaw and head. A post-mortem of the carcass, which was pulled from the river at Gravesend, Kent, revealed the impact that is thought to have happened in open sea was the most likely cause of death.

Ten days later a fin whale was also found floating off the coast of Gravesend, Kent, which investigators said was in a 'moderate nutritional condition' and but had no evidence of 'recent prey ingestion'.

A post-mortem found that the animal was suffering from parasite Bolbosoma turbinella and also had injuries to its body said to be consistent with a live stranding.  

Hessy the humpback whale was found floating off the coast of Gravesend, Cornwall, in October 2019. The baby whale had been struck by a ship and left with severe injuries to her head and jaw

Ten days later a dead fin whale was also found floating off the coast of Gravesend, Cornwall. The animal had parasites living in its stomach and signs of previous strandings on its body 

Fin whale, Cornwall, August 2012

A 65-foot-long female fin whale became beached at Carolyn Bay, Cornwall, in August 2012. When discovered, the seafaring animal was found to be 'incredibly undernourished' and suffering from a 'very high breathing rate'.

Rescuers from British Divers Marine Life Rescue (BDMLR) said at the time there was no hope of refloating the animal and eventually decided to put it down for humane reasons. 

'(It is) very sick and distressed,' they said at the time, 'we are frustrated about it but we cannot help it'.

The whale, which was stranded on the outgoing tide, also had injuries to its head, gashes to its body and around one eye.

A fin whale also became beached at Carolyn Bay, Cornwall, in August 2012. The animal was also 'incredibly malnourished' and had wounds on its body. Rescuers said it was also sick and suffering from a very high breathing rate