The body of this huge 10 metre long whale was spotted floating in the River Parrett, near Burnham-On-Sea, on Sunday afternoon (August 30th).
Jet skier Derek Jones and his son Sean, 12, from Bristol, spotted the mammal drifting in the estuary at around 5pm between Combwich and Burnham.
Derek told Burnham-On-Sea.com: “We couldn’t believe the size of it – it was over 30ft and just huge.”
“I’ve been using this stretch of water for more than 30 years and have never seen anything like it.”
“We tried to attach a rope to it to try and tow it onto the river bank, but it kept slipping.”
The British Divers Marine Life Rescue (BDMLR) group, an international marine animal rescue organisation, was alerted to the sighting and its spokesman Steve O’Connor advised that a lifeboat be launched to check that the whale was fully dead.
A Burnham-On-Sea lifeboat crew went out to the channel between Steart and Stert Island at approximately 6.20pm where the mammal was confirmed to be dead.
Having seen these exclusive photos of the mammal, BDMLR’s Steve O’Connor confirmed to Burnham-On-Sea.com: “This mammal is almost certainly a minke whale, which are never seen in the Bristol Channel.”
“We have not had a sighting of one of these mammals in this area before, so it is quite extraordinary.”
He added: “If we get to these mammals in time, there is a good chance of saving them, but unfortunately on this occasion there was no life in the animal at all and it was not worth sending our volunteers.”
Meanwhile, jet skier Derek Jones and his son Sean, pictured right, have had a sighting they will never forget.
They took a Burnham lifeguard out to see the mammal on Sunday evening before the body was pulled out into the Bristol Channel by the outgoing tide.
