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BBC NEWS
27th January 2003
The dead sperm whale had head injuries
Disposing of the body of a great sperm whale
washed up of the Norfolk coast is proving a
weighty problem.
The body of the female became lodged on sands at the mouth of the river Great Ouse near King's Lynn on Friday.
It is believed the whale died after being in a collision with a ship.
Marine scientists performed a post mortem examination on the body on Sunday.
Now King's Lynn and West Norfolk Borough Council plans to incinerate the whale, which is 15 metres long and weighs 85 tonnes.
The body will first have to be towed out to sea and cut into pieces.
Great Yarmouth coastguards said the body had been floating in The Wash for about a day before becoming grounded on Breast Sand sand banks.
The great sperm whale, which is found all over the world, is the deepest diving mammal and largest toothed whale.
It also has the biggest brain of marine mammals compared to its body size.
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