A dolphin thought to be one of the biggest living off British shores has been found dead from blockages caused by a mystery substance.
A dog walker raised the alarm after finding the giant sea mammal.
Markings on its dorsal fin identified it as a bottlenose dolphin called Gandalf.
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He was one of a population of dolphins that lives in Cardigan Bay, west Wales.
At nearly 10ft-long and weighing over 1,100Ibs, Gandalf was one of the heaviest known dolphins in the country, as reported by Need To Know.
Experts from Marine Environmental Monitoring (MEM), the Welsh arm of the UK Cetacean Strandings Investigation Programme, were called in to examine him.
He was found on Porth Tyn Tywyn beach, Anglesey.
A spokesperson said: “The bottlenose dolphin was an old adult male which measured 3.29m in length.
“Although not the longest bottlenose dolphin we had investigated – it was one of the heaviest.
“It weighed 510kg, which when you compare it with others we have investigated, which normally weigh between 350kg and 450kg gives you an indication that he was a big male.
“Due to the distinctive markings on the dorsal fin, we were able to identify him as a member of the Cardigan Bay population with help from the Sea Watch Foundation who knew him as Gandalf.
“When we carried out our initial inspection, we found that his teeth were worn down which is common in this age of dolphins.
“He also had markings across his body from interactions with other bottlenose dolphins.
“Apart from that he had no obvious injuries and seemed to have been a healthy dolphin.”
With help from a team at the Sea Watch Foundation, staff at MEM were able to recover Gandalf.
The bottlenose dolphin called Gandalf. (Jam Press/MEM)
He was then transported to the University of Liverpool where a post-mortem examination was carried out.
The MEM spokesperson said: “The post-mortem examination showed that he had been a healthy bottlenose dolphin with a good blubber layer which indicated that he had been feeding well, but there was no sign of recent feeding.
“He had some signs of parasites throughout his body, but this is normal for this age of a dolphin.
“When we investigated the intestines, we found two hard blockages near the anus end.
“These blockages had caused the intestines to split between the blockages, which is the most likely cause of death in this dolphin.
The team in Liverpool have taken lots of samples from all the organs and the blockages. (Jam Press/MEM)
“We currently aren’t sure what the blockages are, so they have been sent off for further investigation, but they looked to be a claylike substance.”
The team in Liverpool have taken lots of samples from all the organs and the blockage.
These samples will now be sent to partner agencies throughout the UK and Europe for further testing – and will make sure that there were not underlying diseases or other contributing factors to his death.
The dog walker who discovered Gandalf was emotional about the find.
Sam Griffiths said: “I was one of the people to find him.
“I had two dogs with me and just wanted it all to be safe for everyone.
“To find out his name creates more emotion – wow.
“Bless him.
“Rest in peace you beautiful creature.”
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