Just some pics of a dead Fin Whale beached in Cork. Not sure why it beached and subsequently died but its likely old age. Our local County Council in all their eminent wisdom hired local contractors to pull it out using the two diggers and a chain that wouldn't pull a sock out of a boot. The second time the chain snapped they felt it was a bad idea and moved the crowd back, while they went looking for a bigger chain, hope that guy came back before the tide did.

How someone was not hurt is a mystery, local garda only used to dealing with motorist 3 km over the limit or inspecting insurance where equally baffled at what to do with something with no tax disc.

I don't think waiting for the tide to come back in and towing it out to sea occurred to them, I think they found the concept of the tide coming in and out on a regular basis occurrence to them either, crazy talk they muttered and proceeded to move the Whale 12in in 3hrs.

Last I heard the plan was to cut it into chucks and bring it to an incinerator plant 80 miles away, I cant wait to see the kids faces tomorrow when our local council go at Finny with chainsaws.

So if any one is around Cork tomorrow and wishes to traumatise the kids can I recommend Courtmacsherry Strand for a great family blood bath day out.

I feel sorry for the local crab population and subsequent explosion of prey predator species that Whale carcass should have fed.

I know its a sad sight , but arent they amazing ? that whale huge!!! I'v always wanted to see them in the wild like all the documentarys with the trademark tail fin splashing around

what a giant

I think the biggest problem in moving the whale isnt its actuall size its the soft ground.
they look abit like regular council workers , im surprised they crowd isnt pis**ng themselves with laughter at the thought of them moving it with that equipment .....

The crowd was laughing at them, well the part of the crowd with a brain in their head. Some of the crowd were from the shallower end of the gene pool, standing behind the machines, wearing sneakers on the slob, going barefoot, climbing in the whale etc...

Mate, this pictures are amazing ... whale huge ... it is very different when you watch some document about whales on TV, how huge they are. From your pictures it is more realistic.
Thank you for sharing.
Rgd

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New barbless hooks are here

Thats a huge beast alright, does it smell? I think it was in Orkney they recently used explosives to reduce a whale to more managable chunks As far as i remember the slightly over did it, blowing huge chunks a massive distance onto onlookers cars etc

When I was about 12/13 there was a 40ft sperm whale beached itself near airth [ quite abit from the sea all the way up the forth] It died within an hour of getting beached it was so sad , I think the deep sea world people were the ones co-ordinating the "rescue" but I cant remember how they removed the whale from the mud flats . You could small that from about 1mile+ away and it was "freshly" dead it had been spotted in the forth for about 2 weeks prior to becoming stuck in the tide .

It was nick named "moby" and it was quite a story here . I think all the falkirk guys will remember it .

I think the skeleton is now in a museum in scotland ?

Hi Guys

I get really annoyed when i see beached whales being helped by well meaning people, im sorry but i cant believe that an animal with such a superb sonar system "accidently" beached its self ........like it had not seen the sand bar or beach Im convince they do this for a reason ??

They drag the poor animals off out to deeper water causing all kinds of stress, only for them to beach themselves again.

Surely better to put them down with a full bore rifle than let them suffer for hours.

Sad to see such a mighty beast end like this, does anyone know wether this one "washed up dead" or was "stranded alive" ??

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Englander

"Barbless since 2008"

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looks like it was dead for a while judging by the abrasion marks on the belly and underside . [Dont you watch csi ?]

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The local RNLI station based in Courtmacsherry raised the alarm at around 8am..

Have anyone thought that it may have been hit by a boats propeller?

Did you know that whales seek shallow bays when injured!!!!