THE FIN whale that became stranded in Courtmacsherry, Co Cork, last week is to buried there after efforts to move the 20m (65ft) long creature failed.
A postmortem examination and rendering of the whale took place at the weekend in a bid to determine the the cause of death.
A team from the Irish Whale and Dolphin Group (IWDG) and University College Cork met a film crew from National Geographic on Friday.
National Geographic had flown over Joy Reidenberg, associate professor of medical education at Mount Sinai School of Medicine, in New York, who has considerable experience working with large baleen whale carcasses, to assist in the postmortem.
The postmortem involved the stripping off of blubber from the ventral area and the removal of the organs. The Civil Defence restricted the area for public safety.
Yesterday the IWDG were completing the operation which involved the removal of the remaining organs. After examination the organs will be incinerated.
Meanwhile, local community groups are exploring the options of salvaging the skeletal remains of the whale for display locally. The enormous mammal is now set to be buried at the beach with two JCBs digging a massive hole over the weekend.
Padraig Whooley of the whale group and National Parks and Wildlife Service Rangers said progress was being made yesterday in relation to the postmortem.
“We have removed many of the internal organs and there will be a more detailed examination of the internal organs. The local community plans to retrieve the skeleton which would be a tremendous resource. We are also attempting to determine the cause of death.” The fin whale was spotted last Thursday morning on a sandbank in Courtmacsherry estuary by the local lifeguard service. At that point the whale was still alive and blowing air from its spout hole.
After the sighting was reported on the radio thousands of people immediately flocked to the beach to try to help the rescue effort.
However, with the tide falling, it was impossible to get a boat out in time. By the time the whale was accessible to rescuers on foot at mid-morning, it had died.
The fin whale is second only to the blue whale as the largest mammal on the planet. It is also an endangered species.