Porpoise carcass sparks debate

A marine biologist has scotched rumours that a carcass washed up on the shore at West Bank last week was that of a baby whale.

The aquatic mammal, later identified as a "harbour" or "common" porpoise, was found yards from the Mersey Hotel on Monday night.

Manager Dean Gleavey said: "It wasn't alive but it wasn't stiff, so I don't think it had been dead long.

"Today (Tuesday) people have been saying that another one has been found at Spike Island on the sandbanks.

"And people have been talking about news reports that a whale is coming towards Liverpool - who knows, maybe it's the mother looking for its babies!"

Dr Julian Chantrey, of Liverpool University's Veterinary Pathology Faculty, identified the creature as a porpoise.

His department receives carcasses and carries out post mortems on behalf of a monitoring project at London Zoo.

He said: "They live in the Irish Sea and you find them in coastal waters looking for fish. Sometimes the young ones get separated and the juveniles can become disorientated as they move away from the family group.

"The babies are about cocker spaniel-size and the adults can weigh 150kg - I would say this one is a juvenile."

A council spokesman said staff had gone to dispose of the carcass but particularly high tides had hampered efforts on Tuesday.