The public are being asked not to get too close to a dead fin whale which has washed up on a West Cork beach.
The 57 foot dead whale which is very decomposed washed up in the Barleycove area this week.
The Irish Whale and Dolphin Group say it is not unusual for fin whales to wash up here with another carcass found on a beach in Waterford at the start of the year.
Speaking to RedFM News Padraig Whooley from the group says the public should not touch the whale as the cause of death is unknown.
"It's not the biggest specimen we've ever recorded, but it's a very big animal.
"It's an amazing spectacle for people who want to go down and show the kids one of the largest whales on the planet.
"We would ask people not to touch it, because it's a decomposing mammal and we don't know what it died of.
"If you go down, watch it from a distance - bring the binoculars and have a look at it."
(Pic - Jan Wolstenhome, iwdg.ie)
