A sick fin whale that has become stranded in the harbour of a west Cork fishing village was clinging to life last night, more than 36 hours after it first swam into the harbour.
The 14m (46ft) adult whale, which came into Baltimore on Monday, was not expected to live through the night.
There were upsetting scenes yesterday at the harbour pier, where the whale is located, as it bled heavily from a gash in its side after cutting itself on rocks.
Speaking yesterday, Pádraig Whooley of the Irish Whale and Dolphin Group said the whale, which had swum into the harbour because it was unwell and was not able to navigate properly, was “unfortunately still alive”.
“It is probably suffering quite badly. We never thought it would be alive this morning . . . given its behaviour today, it will probably expire pretty quickly.”
