A dead dolphin washed up on a Dorset beach over the weekend.
At around 9.30am on Sunday, April 7 at Hive Beach, Burton Bradstock, a member of the public drew a coastwatch volunteer's attention to a dead dolphin underneath the wall just below Hive Café.
Details were passed to Solent Coastguard who arranged for West Bay Coastguard Rescue Team to attend.
A spokesperson for the National Coastwatch Institution said: "In the meantime, and with the assistance of a National Trust volunteer, the watchkeeper cordoned the area off with tape.
"Within an hour of the report to the coastguard, the local team had completed the necessary data collection for forwarding to the Cetacean Strandings Investigation Programme.
"Members of the public are advised not to touch the dolphin pending collection and disposal by the Dorset Council."
Dolphins, porpoises, and whales are all protected under the Royal Fish Laws of the UK. The coastguard undertakes duties on behalf of the Receiver of a Wreck to record details of Royal Fish washed ashore.
Earlier this year a dead porpoise was reported on Cogden Beach near to this incident.
Read more: Dead porpoise washes up on west Dorset beach
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