‘Whale must be left to die naturally’

The 30 tonne fin whale beached in a West Cork harbour must be left to die naturally, according to dolphin and whale experts.

Hundreds more people gathered at Baltimore pier to look at the 18 metre injured fin whale which arrived in the port early on Tuesday morning. Fin whales are the second largest whales on the planet.

Baltimore Lifeboat cox-wain Kieran Cotter said he couldn’t “face going down to the pier yesterday as it’s just not a nice sight”. There is a lot of blood in the waters around the mammal, estimated to be around 20 years old.