Giant creature washed up on Welsh beach, surprising locals

On the coast of Wales, the body of a large marine animal was discovered. The find attracted the attention of local residents and sparked active discussion on social media. Initially, various theories were proposed about the nature of the find - from a shark to a "Welsh dragon," however, specialists determined that it is a fin whale - the second largest species of whale after the blue whale.

According to media information, the length of the discovered animal is about 21 meters, and its weight is approximately 50 tons. The lower jaw of the whale reaches five meters.

"This is a significant event: fin whales extremely rarely appear off the coast of Wales," commented Matthew Westfield, marine environment monitoring coordinator.

Fin whales usually inhabit the shores of Cornwall, Ireland, and Scotland, and their appearance in the Irish Sea is considered rare. The whale's body will be sent to the London Zoo for DNA analysis, study of the presence of pollutants, including microplastics, as well as for use in international genetic research.

It is worth noting that the animal's body is in a state of decomposition and shows signs of exposure to marine predators, including sharks.