Dead porpoises discovered on Rhyl Beach days after dead sharks found

Both Rhyl-based actor Spencer Wilding, and resident Paul Williams, spotted a porpoise each and initially mistook them for a dolphin.

Spencer saw one at about 5pm on June 14, while Paul noticed another in the early hours of today (June 16).

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After being contacted and shown photos by the Journal, Frankie Hobro, director of Anglesey Sea Zoo, confirmed that both creatures were, in fact, an adult harbour porpoise.

“It was half the size of me, and must have weighed half of my weight because I pulled it to the side,” Spencer said.

“It’s just a shame, seeing a beautiful mammal getting washed up like that. You don’t normally see it.

“There’s something going on at the moment, after the sharks that were washed up this week.

“I thought it was a baby dolphin at first. There wasn’t a mark on it. Its eyeballs had been taken out, and there was a dead seagull just a feet few up the beach from it.”

The porpoise Paul found washed up on Rhyl Beach on June 16 (Image: Paul Williams)

Paul added: “I was doing my walk from Prestatyn to Rhyl this morning as I tend to do, catching the sunrise.

“Just near Splash Point, I saw what looked like a dolphin, and wasn’t sure if it was in the middle of having a baby.

“(In fact) its gut was swelling as it was decomposing.”

Paul said he then reported his sighting to Rhyl Coastguard Rescue Team.

Frankie, of Anglesey Sea Zoo, confirmed that these were adult harbour porpoises, known as “phocoena phocoena”.

She said: “These are the smallest species of cetacean in our seas here in the UK, with a maximum body length of less than two metres.

“They are found all around the UK and Ireland in most coastal areas but most commonly on the west coasts, and in all our Welsh coastal seas.

“Although relatively common in coastal areas, they are often less apparent than our dolphin species as they are extremely shy and do not break the surface as clearly or jump and play.

“Harbour porpoises can be easily spotted close to shore in shallow water by the trained eye, either alone or in small groups.

“Finding two different ones dead within such a small area and time frame could just be coincidence.”

“They are shy and will avoid boats and jet skis and they are extremely vulnerable to disturbance and noise.

“As warm-blooded mammals, their small size means they have to feed constantly to keep their body temperature up in our chilly seas, eating around 10 per cent of their own body weight each day!

“They feed mainly on small fish, including sand eels, herring, whiting cod and sardines and also occasionally octopus and squid.”

Frankie added that it would be hard to know what caused the porpoises’ deaths, but encouraged anyone who saws a stranded harbour porpoise, dead or alive, or any other marine animal, to quickly report it to the Marine Strandings Network.