Porpoise is euthanised after being found washed up on Anglesey beach

At about 5pm, British Divers Marine Life Rescue (BDMLR) received a report of a small harbour porpoise calf that had live-stranded on the beach at Red Wharf Bay.

A member of the public had pushed it back out to sea, where it was swept away by the tide and went out of sight.

Due to the porpoise being so small, with apparent foetal folds from the photo sent in, it would have been maternally dependent, and with no other porpoises sighted in the area, the calf would not have survived.

The porpoise washed up on Anglesey (Image: Victoria Roberts, Sophia Taylor and Craig Brown)

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BDMLR dispatched a small team of medics to observe from the coast with binoculars to see if they could locate the animal.

After a few hours of searching, the porpoise calf was nowhere to be found.

But just as the medics were stood down at about 8pm, BDMLR received another report of a small porpoise stranded at Llandona beach a few miles further east.

The porpoise was found in the shallows, being pushed around by the waves, but still breathing, so the medics entered the water to stabilise it and keep it upright.

The foetal folds were confirmed here, so the decision was made to bring the animal onto the beach where the medics could complete a full assessment.

The porpoise washed up on Anglesey (Image: Victoria Roberts, Sophia Taylor and Craig Brown)

At this stage, a BDMLR spokesperson said, “It was highly likely that the calf would have to be euthanised due to no sign of its mother”.

The porpoise was confirmed as a male neonate, with lingual papillae (frills along the edge of the tongue used for latching on to his mother’s mammaries for feeding) present.

The spokesperson added: “It was at this point that we learned of the body of a nursing female porpoise that had stranded nearby the day previous, so it’s highly possible that this could’ve been his mother.

“Without her milk, he would starved to death, and it was obvious he hadn’t fed in some time due to his poor body condition.

“Our medics continued to perform first aid on the porpoise, keeping him as comfortable as possible, until we arranged for him to be transported to the vets to be euthanised.

“A sad outcome, but the right one to prevent him from suffering any further.”