Walker 'in awe' after stumbling across giant whale skull washed up on UK beach

12 January 2023 , 12:46

679     0

A walker has found what appears to be a whale's skull on Walmer beach, Kent (Image: TNG/Hannah Summerfield)

A walker has told how she was in "awe" after finding what appears to have been a whale's skull washed up on a British beach.

Hannah Summerfield was walking with her boyfriend along the coastline in Walmer, Kent, when she was shocked to find the enormous pile of bones.

It didn't appear to be a recent death as they were covered in moss, but she says it's amazing it even washed up having never seen anything like it before.

Miss Summerfield, who lives nearby in Deal, said: "I've lived in Deal my whole life but never stumbled across anything like this.

"I was in awe. It had obviously been there for a long time, maybe a week, as it had sand, sea shells and moss on it.

'Putting an actor in a fat suit to play an obese character is ableist hogwash'

Hannah Summerfield who found what she believes to be a whale's skull on a beach (TNG/Hannah Summerfield)

"I knew immediately it was from a large marine mammal and later a friend on Facebook, who studied marine biology, said it was a whale, probably a minke whale."

Hannah, 35, took snaps of the bone fragments, which were gathered in a large tray, while there was a tarpaulin which looked to have been covering them but had blown off.

Leaving everything in place after taking pictures, she then contacted Kent County Council for advice.

And she detailed her discovery on a local Facebook site for Kent coastal finds.

The apparent skull was in a tray with tarpaulin beside it (TNG/Hannah Summerfield)

Hannah said she was in "awe" after the discovery (TNG/Hannah Summerfield)

It isn't the first time that whales have been spotted off the Kent coast.

Last November pictures appeared to show a whale off St Margaret's Bay near Dover.

And just last month a minke whale was seen swimming inside Dover harbour, the second such sighting off the Kent coast in a week.

Famously, a beluga whale nicknamed Benny swam along the Thames near Gravesend for months.

While in October 2019 a humpback whale was killed by a collision with a ship near Dartford.

A spokesman for the Government's Marine Management Organisation said: "In general, there are restrictions on removal of carcasses.

Radio DJ James Whale considered euthanasia after terminal cancer diagnosis

"Normally any removal or clean up responsibilities or permissions are for the local authority so anyone finding parts of marine mammals should contact their local council.

"It's unlawful for members of the public to remove any part of a marine mammal carcass and of course doing so could also pose a health risk to them."

Tim Hanlon