Killer whale beaches in West Iceland

A walker taking in the beautiful sights in the West Iceland fjord of Urthvalafjörður has happened across an even more stunning sight – that of a beached dead killer whale.

The still-whole carcass is lying where it beached on the famous Snæfellsnes peninsula of West Iceland and has attracted the attention of passers-by, as a four-wheel-drive vehicle can make it almost all the way up to the spot.

According to an expert from the Icelandic Marine Research Institute, the carcass will quite easily rot on the shore and should be all but gone in three months’ time.

Killer whales generally wash up in Iceland once or twice a year – for unknown reasons.