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[/audioplayer]Last week a sperm whale was beached at Hunstanton in Norfolk and there was much horrified concern.
A terrible sight, lying there like a small cottage on the immensity of the beach, 46 feet long and 30 tons, surrounded by rescue workers from British Divers Marine Rescue and Hunstanton Sea Life Sanctuary who were dousing the whale with water to try and keep it going, but to no avail. It died towards the end of a long and desperate day.
Last month, another sperm whale was beached just a couple of miles away and five more at Skegness. All of this provoked a mood of sadness and wonder: that so enormous a thing could exist in the first place and then die in so inexplicable a fashion.
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