A young minke whale has been found dead on the beach in the West Flemish coastal city of Ostend. The animal that is around 3 metres long was found on a part of the beach near to the Casino Kursaal at around 9am on Monday morning.
Jan Haelters of the Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences told VRT News that it is exceptional for a minke whale to wash ashore on a West Flemish beach. It is still unclear how the animal died.
A minke whale is a small baleen whale that can grow up to 9 metres long. The animal that washed ashore in Ostend this morning is young and and wasn’t fully grown. It measures just under 3 metres. The animal may not have been dead for long when it washed up on the beach.
Chief Life Guard Jonathan Devos saw the animal floating in the sea shortly before it washed up on the beach. "Shortly before 9 o'clock I saw a large fish floating. Whether the animal was already then is not clear. Shortly afterwards it washed ashore and only then it became clear that it had died."
The Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences will now examine the minke whale’s remains.