The National Parks and Wildlife Service has confirmed that a species of whale, never before recorded in Ireland, washed up in Donegal last weekend.
The initial discovery was made by a family walking along Sweet Nellies Beach on the Inishowen Peninsula who reported the sighting of a small, stranded 2-3m whale or dolphin to the Irish Whale and Dolphin Group.
Volunteers from the IWDG responded quickly and arrived at the scene to recover the carcass and collect skin samples.
The IWDG and NPWS regional staff worked together to retrieve and transport the carcass to the Regional Laboratory in Cork for post-mortem examination and tests.
The Narwhal is a toothed whale found exclusively in the Arctic waters of the North Atlantic, north of 60° and it is the first time that the species has been recorded in Ireland.
