A deep-diving beaked whale has died after becoming stranded on a beach in the south of Scotland.
Staff at a nearby hotel raised the alarm after spotting the animal in Balcary Bay near Auchencairn earlier this week.
It is believed to be a Sowerby’s beaked whale and the Scottish Marine Animal Stranding Scheme (SMASS) hopes to carry out an examination in the coming days.
The whales are a deep-diving species, rarely seen at sea and can spend long periods underwater hunting squid and fish.