How did a 33ft whale end up in the middle of a

field in East Yorkshire?

By Daily Mail Reporter

UPDATED: 11:58 GMT, 8 December 2014

A young whale died after an exceptionally high equinox tide carried it 800 yards from the shoreline to a salt
marsh where it then became stranded.

The 33ft mammal, thought to be a Sei whale, was discovered in marshes on the north
bank of the River Humber near the village of Skeffling.
As the tide retreated the whale became stranded before rolling over onto its blowhole,
causing it to suffocate. The highest tides of the year occur after the spring and autumn
equinox.
The Yorkshire Wildlife Trust has since carried out a post-mortem examination on the
mammal with the British Zoological Society. Experts who examined the animal said
they are 95 per cent certain it is a female Sei whale and say it could simply have been
looking for food when the tide turned.

Strand
ed: The 33ft whale was found beached 800 yards from the shoreline of the Humber Estuary

Mysterious: Experts are baffled by the beached whales, as this one, like others, are
from species not normally stranded on the British coast
The trust's Kirsten Smith said: 'With the high tide the whale probably got carried up on
to the salt marsh, got pushed further in shore and then got stuck when the tide went
out.
'The area where the whale was found is salt marsh, which is still connected to the sea.
'The salt marsh is one of several components of the Humber Estuary, and is further in
than the mud flats and sand components.
'Sometimes whales come into the shallow water looking for food and get stuck.
'It can be illness or confusion in individual animals, but for it to happen twice in the
area, and with reports of another whale nearby now, that could be more than just
coincidence.'
Andy Gibson, also of the trust, said strandings of Sei whales, such as the one found
last Friday, were very rare.
He said there had only been three strandings of this species in UK waters in the last
20 years.

'It is sad. It was in shallow water of about 4ft to 5.25ft, making contact with the bottom,'
Mr Gibson said.
'This was about 800m offshore. When it gets in that situation it rolls onto its side and it
can cover its blow hole.'
But Mr Gibson said: 'It is sad but we will be able to learn a lot from it.'

Andy
Gibson from Yorkshire Wildlife Trust examines the young female whale on the banks of the Humber Estuary

The whale is the latest of a number to have died in the Humber estuary area recently.
Conservationists believe the increase in the number of strandings could be explained
by a change in sea currents bringing colder streams of Arctic water into the North Sea
and with them whales that would not normally pass so close to the UK shoreline.
Earlier this month, a young Fin whale - a relative of the Sei - was stranded at
Immingham, North East Lincolnshire, and subsequently washed up dead near Spurn

Point.
And another dead whale was spotted in the river mouth in the last few days but has
yet to wash ashore.
The Yorkshire Wildlife Trust has noted a rise in whale sightings generally in 2011 but
no-one is sure why there may be an increase in the mammals in the North Sea.
Over the summer, a pod of up to 10 Minke whales were spotted regularly off the North
Yorkshire coast between Whitby and Scarborough.
Whale experts admit they do not know why there has been an upsurge in sightings
and strandings.

MYSTERIOUS REMAINS OF A WHALE FOUND IN A FIELD

IN HUMBER UK

A dairy farmer from a small town north bank of the

River Humber near the village of Skeffling , made an incredible discovery on
his property while he was looking for one of his cows that had not
returned. 69-year old Michael Woodson, found a 12 meter long humpback

whale laying lifeless in the middle of one of his fields, hundreds of

kilometers away its natural habitat.
The City Police was called on the site to investigate, since the farmer
thought that the cetacean could have been left there as a creepy prank by
some neighborhood youngsters. The investigators rapidly dismissed the
possibility however, as no traces of vehicles or machinery large enough to
carry it were found anywhere near the animal. The police admits that they
are almost clueless at the moment as to how the marine mammal found its
way on Mr. Woodsons property.

We have to admit that we find this case very puzzling said Captain Terry
Dawson from the police. It is certainly the first time that we see anything
like this in our city, and we have very little information for now as to how
the animal got there.
A few witnesses have reported seeing some strange flying object in the
area over the last two days and the authorities have confirmed that the 911
operators have received a few dozen calls from all over the region reporting
such sightings, but they refuse to link both events for the moment.
We are verifying every clue and information that we have, and I assure you
that we will explore every other possibility before we conclude that a UFO
has anything to do with the case added Captain Dawson.

Michael Woodson still believes that some neighbourhood

youngsters placed the 25-ton animal there as a prank.
A team of biologists from the University of Utah have already been
called on the site to examine the body of the whale and realize
various tests and analysis before it it removed from Mr. Woodsons
property.
The various police forces of the area are now asking the public to
report any information that could prove helpful in solving this
strange case. Anyone that might possess any information on the
case is asked to contact the City Police, which is in charge of the
investigation.
Source:
www.dailymail.co.uk
Posted by Thavam