Whale washes up on Saudi beach

Visitors to a small beach in Saudi Arabia stumbled across a large dead whale believed to have been lying on the sand for nearly 10 days, a newspaper in the oil-rich Gulf country reported on Sunday.

The 4.5-metre decaying whale was found on the beach in Rayis village, nearly 160 km from the western Saudi town of Madina, Alriyadh said.

“Apparently it has been dead for nearly 10 days,” the paper said, quoting Dr Ali Ashki, a marine science professor in the western Red Sea port of Jeddah.

“Its death could have been caused by its inability to return to water after reaching the beach because of the tide, old age or other factors.”

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