A 17-metre fin whale carcass was towed to the port of Esbjerg, Denmark, on Wednesday morning, after being discovered floating in the North Sea. Danish authorities have cordoned off the area, and a team of marine biologists from the University of Southern Denmark is expected to perform a necropsy within 48 hours. British scientists from the Cetacean Strandings Investigation Programme (CSIP) at the Zoological Society of London are monitoring the case and have requested tissue samples to assess the impact of shipping, pollution, and climate change on whale populations.
Fin whales are listed as vulnerable on the IUCN Red List, and strandings in European waters have increased in recent years. The cause of death remains unknown. Danish police have urged the public to avoid the site as officials manage the disposal process.
