A WHALE washed up on a Purbeck beach was too badly decomposed to ascertain the cause of its death, according to experts.

It is believed that the pilot whale had been dead for some time before it beached on Thursday.

Lulworth Coastguard Rescue Officers were called after the seven-metre long mammal was discovered at Worbarrow Bay.

The Natural History Museum was notified and specialists from the Zoological Society of London were called in. But they decided that the whale was too badly decomposed for them to carry out an autopsy.

Conservation expert Steve Trewhella said a post mortem examination would only be carried out on a whale which had only been dead for a matter of hours.

He added: “A pilot whale is more than likely to have just died.

“The wind would have brought it in. Otherwise, it would have just stayed out at sea and eventually sunk.

“The autopsy can only be done if they’re really fresh. It’s probably been on the surface (of the sea) for a while.

“From now until about March or April we get lots washed up. A lot of the bigger stuff has died out at sea and the south-westerly winds have brought it in.”

Mr Trewhella said a pilot whale had washed up at Osmington Mills three years ago and a minky whale had beached at Dancing Ledge about four years ago.

A Portland Coastguard spokesman told the Daily Echo it was a relatively rare event for a whale to wash up on a beach although dolphins and porpoises would surface more often.

He added: “We don’t get that many. Obviously animals die. We get the odd dolphin and porpoise, particularly after bad weather we get them washing ashore.”

Pilot whales are members of the Delpinidae family. They live in groups and their main food of choice is squid.

A 70ft whale was famously washed up in Boscombe in January 1897 and was exhibited on the pier.