Ramsgate Whale Removed

The carcass of the whale washed ashore at Pegwell Bay has been cleared away.

A dog walker spotted the whale early Thursday morning. A post-mortem examination carried out on the 45-feet long sperm whale showed he had not eaten for days and was dehydrated. 

Thanet council Chief Executive, Richard Samuel, has thanked his staff for their help in the operation to dispose of the carcass. He said: "The death of this wonderful marine animal on our shoreline is very sad, and has given an unusual disposal situation for the council. The last occasion we had a big whale on our beaches was in the mid 1990s, but that was not anywhere near as large.

"This is not something that the council has to deal with every day and I’d like to take this opportunity to thank the experts who have given us advice on the most dignified way to deal with this beautiful animal.

“Our thanks also go out to our team of officers, from various different departments of the council, who rallied round to deal with this incident. Our staff are the most valuable resource we have and many of them have gone the extra mile in helping to ensure that this situation was resolved as quickly as possible."

Some Sperm Whale Facts

* The sperm whale is the largest toothed whale and the largest toothed animal.

* A bull can grow up to 67 foot long (20.5m), and weigh between 40 and 50 tonnes when fully grown.

* Its head takes up to one-third of its length.

* It has the heaviest brain of any mammal, weighing 20lbs (9kg)

* It has 5ft (1.5m) long flippers that are about 3ft (0.9m) wide