15-Meter Fin whale found dead in Dutch port

The massive carcass of a whale was found in the Vlissingen port on Friday morning, according to non profit group SOS Dolfijn. When pulled from the water, the whale was measured at 15 meters in length, reported Omroep Zeeland.

The fin whale was believed to be a young male, which are capable of growing to a length of 24 meters, according to the WWF. It was found along the bulbous bow of a ship, though it is not clear what caused the whale’s death.

It could have died from natural causes, SOS Dolfijn said, or possibly from a collision or from something it ingested. Once the fin whale was pulled out of the water it was to be dissected by staff from the veterinary medicine faculty of Utrecht University.

Workers from the university planned to wrap up their initial investigation quickly before severe storms were expected to hit the Zeeland port. A biologist from the university told Omroep Zeeland that it is possible the ship picked up the whale near the Bay of Biscay off the coasts of France and Spain.