Beached Fin Whale Dies Tragically in Cork

An magnificent 20m fin whale has died after it became beached at Courtmacsherry, Co Cork, this morning. Rescue efforts got under way after the whale beached itself in the harbour. The crew of the Courtmacsherry Lifeboat said that time was against them because the tide was going out.

The fin whale (Balaenoptera physalus), also called the finback whale or razorback, is a marine mammal belonging to the suborder of baleen whales. It is the second largest whale and the second largest living animal after the blue whale, growing to nearly 27 meters (88 ft) long. Long and slender, the fin whale's body is brownish-grey with a paler underside. There are at least two distinct subspecies: the northern fin whale of the North Atlantic, and the larger Antarctic fin whale of the southern ocean. It is found in all the world's major oceans, from polar to tropical waters. It is absent only from waters close to the ice pack at both the north and south poles and relatively small areas of water away from the open ocean. The highest population density occurs in temperate and cool waters. Its food consists of small schooling fish, squid, and crustaceans including mysids and krill.

This is yet another in the rising number of whale beachings over the past number of years.