Zoological Society looking for answers to why 29 North Sea whales have been washed up on Europe's beaches recently

Residents along the east coast of Britain are praying they will not see a repeat of the tragedies seen in Skegness and Hunstanton where six whales have now washed up on the beach.
A second whale has beached alive in Hunstanton. ANL-160402-133451001A second whale has beached alive in Hunstanton. ANL-160402-133451001
A second whale has beached alive in Hunstanton. ANL-160402-133451001

Hundreds of people from all over the East Midlands flocked to Skegness to see three dead whales on Central Beach before they were removed to Sheffield for rendering last Wednesday. A fourth whale that beached of former Ministry of Defence (MOD) land in Wainfleet remains there and a fifth was removed from Hunstanton a week ago.

Today, as staff from the Hunstanton Sealife Centre worked to ease the suffering of another whale beached there at about 7.30am, residents were asking why whales keep straying into the North Sea - and will we again see a repeat of the distressing scenes of last week?

The whale that beached in Hunstanton this morning brings the total in Germany, the Netherlands, France and the UK to 29.

Whale at Hunstanton ANL-160402-111931001Whale at Hunstanton ANL-160402-111931001
Whale at Hunstanton ANL-160402-111931001

Rob Deaville, of the Zoological Society of London, was one of the officers who performed the autopsy of a whale in Skegness.

Mr Deaville was in touch with Hunstanton when the Skegness Standard spoke to him. He said “We are currently helping to manage the whale’s passing.

“It may be that it gets washed out alive in the high tide but the signs are not good.

“We are appealing to the public to stay away so the whale does not become any more distressed.

The first Hunstanton sperm whale being removed from the beach. ANL-160102-105659001The first Hunstanton sperm whale being removed from the beach. ANL-160102-105659001
The first Hunstanton sperm whale being removed from the beach. ANL-160102-105659001

“Should the whale die we will again visit Hunstanton to try to understand why this keeps happening.

“There have now been 29 whales wash up and die in the North Sea and we are in contact with our colleagues in Germany, the Netherlands and France to try and find the answer.

“It is however still far too early to say whether the whales are part of one bachelor pod or separate pods are coming into the North Sea.”