The body of a 1.5 tonne whale has washed up on the shore of Comino.

Nature Trust Malta president Vincent Attard said the NGO began receiving calls about the whale from the public at around 9 am.

Attard said he was informed that the whale is in a badly decomposed state, indicating it has been dead for some time. 

He said it appears to be a sperm whale, which is an endangered species in the Mediterranean, but a closer investigation will confirm. 

The whale has been dead for some time, officials said. Photo: Nature Trust MaltaThe whale has been dead for some time, officials said. Photo: Nature Trust Malta

Attard said in the past 30 years, there have been no known recordings of previous whale strandings in the Maltese Islands.

Dolphins, on the other hand, have been more common, with previous strandings found in Buġibba, Baħar ic-Cagħaq and Mellieħa.

Attard told Times of Malta that a vet will go to the bay on Tuesday to inspect the mammal and see if a necropsy (a post-mortem examination on animals) can be held.

“If a necropsy cannot be held, the mammal will be towed out and sunk outside Maltese waters,” he said.

In a Facebook post, Nature Trust Malta warned people to stay away from the carcass and to not touch it.

The Environment Authority (ERA) said its officials were on-site investigating, and no further details were immediately available.

While whale spotting is rare in Malta, researchers previously indicated that there have been a number of sightings of fin whales, cuvier’s beaked whales, long-finned pilot whales and sperm whales in Maltese waters.Â