A dead fin whale was found on Sunday morning in the harbour of Vlissingen in the south-western province of Zeeland.

The young mammal is nearly nine metres long and weighs some 5,000 kilos. It is extremely rare for a fin whale to wash up on Dutch shores. Just 30 cases have been recorded since the fourteenth century.

The last time was eleven years ago, when a fin whale washed up about 100 metres from the present site. Biologists from the Naturalis natural history museum in Leiden will dissect the animal on the quay tomorrow.

(cl/ae)

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