A WHALE was spotted washed up on a beach in Gwynedd on Monday morning (May 8).

Believed to be a young sperm whale, it was spotted at about 8am at Porth Neigwl, on the south coast of the Llŷn Peninsula.

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Once located by Abersoch Coastguard Rescue Team, representatives from British Divers Marine Life Rescue (BDMLR) later confirmed that the whale had sadly died.

A post-mortem examination will determine the cause of the whale’s death.

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Abersoch Coastguard Rescue Team said on Monday: “At 8.51am we were tasked to a sighting of a beached whale on Porth Neigwl.

“Once located, we directed a team from British Divers Marine Life Rescue to the cliff top, who confirmed the whale was dead and currently thought to be a young sperm whale.

“With a full and very high tide preventing any access to the beach, a full assessment and post-mortem will be carried out later.”

A BDMLR spokesperson added: "We received a report of a live stranded large whale in North Wales around 8am on May 8.

"BDMLR marine mammal medics attended to monitor and assess the animal.

"They identified it to be a sperm whale, however due to the high tide preventing safe access, they had to observe from a distance.

"As the tide retreated, it became clear that the whale had passed away. Our medics also noted that the whale was in incredibly poor body condition.

"Cetacean Stranding Investigation Programme (CSIP) have been in attendance and a post-mortem examination has been scheduled to determine the cause of death.

"We recommend the public to avoid the area until the carcass has been removed."

Visitors to the beach at the time were also warned by the Coastguard team not to approach the whale.

Part of the beach is fully cut off at high tide, so any contact with the whale would have impaired the results gathered from the autopsy.

This sighting came just two days after a minke whale was discovered washed up off the coast of Scotland.