THOSE dealing with a stranded baby whale on the Cornish coast say the outlook for the creature is bleak.

Experts say the whale calf appears to have been separated from her mother and this means she has no means of survival.

The fin whale calf was reported stranded at Pentewan, near Mevagissey, early on the morning of Monday, November 17.

The Three Bays Wildlife Group said the stranding of the creature in the mouth of the White River was sad news and urged people to avoid gathering to spectate.

Mevagissey and St Austell Bay Cornwall councillor James Mustoe echoed the call for people to not get too close to the scene.

Fifteen members of British Divers Marine Life Rescue (BDMLR) went to Pentewan in response to a call to the organisation’s hotline reporting the stranding of the baby whale which is around 6.2 metres long, the typical size of a newborn.

A BDMLR spokesperson said: “Medics began conducting welfare assessments and providing appropriate first aid. The calf is in poor nutritional condition, displaying an elevated respiratory rate, with no sign of any accompanying adult whales.

“This strongly indicates maternal separation, a situation in which survival is not possible for such a young animal. A calf of this age is completely dependent on the mother for frequent feeding and cannot survive independently at sea.

“With the whale’s compromised condition and its inability to thrive without its mother, the BDMLR team and attending veterinary professionals have been carefully considering euthanasia options to stop further suffering.

“The priority on scene is to manage the calf’s welfare, ensure public safety and minimise any further distress to the animal. Leaving the whale on the beach is not compatible with survival, and without veterinary intervention the calf would face a prolonged and inevitable death from starvation and physiological collapse.”