14 DAY TRIAL // Just the other day, the lifeless body of a whale was found on a beach near Cliftonville, Kent. It's not clear exactly when it was that the corpse washed ashore, but the whale looks like it's been dead for a while.
To keep locals at a distance and make sure they wouldn't go poking around the body, a police cordon was set in place all around it soon after discovery. Then, wildlife experts had their chance to inspect the area and the corpse.
It is believed the body is that of a minke whale, but this is yet to be confirmed. As for how and why the animal died, the wildlife researchers who examined it admit that, at least for now, they haven't the faintest idea.
“We have had a look at it to try to identify it. It looks like an 11-meter [36 feet] long adult minke whale, but it is difficult to say with certainty without seeing the underside of it,” said specialist Julia Cable, as cited by Sky News.
Minke whales are fascinating creatures
Researchers say minke whales aren't very big, at least not compared to other marine mammals of the kind. Usually, females average 8 meters (26 feet) and males 7 meters (23 feet).
They sometimes swim in pairs, but it looks like, most of the time, they prefer a solitary existence. When swimming, they can reach a speed of up to 22.5 kilometers (14 miles) per hour.
They can remain underwater without needing to come up for air for 20 minutes at a time and are known to feed on fish and plankton. Scientists say they have a life expectancy of about 50 years.
Presently, there are about 200,000 minke whales populating Earth's oceans and so the International Union for Conservation of Nature doesn't consider them endangered.
Precisely because they are not listed as endangered, these marine mammals are often targeted by whalers who hunt them for commercial or supposedly research purposes.
