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Malaga residents were greeted by a grisly sight this weekend when the carcass of the 15-metre whale that appeared on a beach in Estepona on Thursday January 20 floated back into the port three days later.

 

According to Ecologists in Action, the fin whale’s body was towed out to sea by a fishing boat, but a storm in recent days dragged it back to shore, with “the odours of putrefaction” caught on the wind creating a stench for miles around. The group also warned that decomposing organic matter can alter the marine ecosystem in the area.

 

 

Horrified locals expressed their concerns on social media, with one user questioning whether a rotting animal corpse could present a danger to humans, while another suggested a more practical and educational move would have been to remove the whale and display its skeleton at the Paleontological Museum of Estepona.

 

 

Image 1 & 2: Ecologistas en Acción - Sierra Bermeja

Image 3: Ayuntamiento de Estepona