A RARE whale’s carcass measuring 44 feet washed up on a Dorset beach but sightseers are being warned not to risk having a look.

The ‘massive’ mammal was found on a beach at Rope Lake Head near Kimmeridge.

Experts from Dorset Wildlife Trust think the creature may be a rare juvenile fin whale and are waiting for confirmation from the Natural History Museum.

Marine conservation officer Emma Rance said while the position of the whale made it difficult to identify, she is certain it is a male baleen whale and possibly ‘a rare fin whale juvenile Balaenoptera physalus’.

Identity will be determined once the Natural History Museum strandings unit have taken skin and blubber samples. Members of the public are being urged to take care if they decide to view the ‘giant’ as Rope Lake Head is difficult to access with the added risk of rock falls and being cut off by the tide.

Emma added: “It’s important to remember that all whales and dolphins carry transmissible disease and infections and can pose a health risk when dead or alive.”