Cause of whale death is ‘inconclusive’

AFBI (Agri-Food and Biosciences Institute) vets were called upon to try to establish a cause of death for the whale that was stranded in Portstewart earlier this month.
By Nichola Neill
Published 15th Oct 2015, 10:30 BST

In a statement the Institute said that the ‘exact cause of death is inconclusive’.

“The size of this whale is consistent with a juvenile which is only just post-weaning. The carcass was in a very poor condition and it had been dead for some time before it came ashore.

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“The skin was peeling and it had a thin blubber layer. The muscle mass along the back was low and the stomach was empty. The body condition of the

mammal was considered sub-optimal and natural causes are suspected, however the exact cause of death is inconclusive.”