The remains of a 50-tonne fin whale which washed up on a private beach near Baile an Sceilg in Co Kerry earlier this summer have finally been buried.
Samples taken from the whale will form part of a bio-bank of whale material available to research students, it has also been confirmed.
There had been calls to preserve the carcass of the 19-metre-mammal, a male, not fully grown, so it could become a tourist or natural attraction.
However, access to the beach along with the logistics of trying to preserve it, and its state of decomposition, were too challenging.
It had most likely been dead for a week at sea before ending up on Baile Uí Chuill strand on 8 July last, opposite Bolus Head and south of the main Baile an Sceilg beach.
The cause of death has not been determined.
Stephanie Levesque, strandings officer with the Irish Whale and Dolphin Group visited the scene in early July.
She measured the animal as part of a strandings survey, the Deep Diving and Rare Species Investigation Programme, by the group and the National Parks and Wildlife Service because of the increase in strandings in recent years.
The group had been alerted by Dublin woman Frances O' Hare, a keen whale watcher, who was staying in a holiday home alongside the beach.
Ms O'Hare looked out her window on the Saturday morning to see huge waves. And then she spotted one of the waves was actually a whale.
It was not possible to do a full post mortem on the animal but samples of blubber, baleen and skin were taken.
This material has been preserved for later analysis- and the Baile an Sceilg whale is now part of "a bio-bank of samples" which will help future research.
It should help inform what the whale had been feeding on and where he might have travelled, Ms Levesque said on Wednesday.
It was not possible to do a full post mortem, the officer said, because of the expense and also the need to bring heavy machinery, ladders and other equipment to the scene to carry out a post mortem on a creature of its size.
The cause of death of the whale is not determined but it is possible he may have died of natural causes, she said.
The disposal of a fifty tonne fin whale also proved a challenge because of the narrow nature of the road to the secluded strand.
A tourist attraction for a while, with traffic building up to catch a site of the huge animal, the smell and the build up of gasses was of concern to the authorities and to locals.
Towing out to sea, burial on spot, removal, leaving it where it is or burning were all considered.
Yesterday Kerry County Council confirmed the whale has been buried at Baile Uí Chuill Strand.
"The remains of the whale were recently buried close to the location where it was washed up," the council spokesman said.
"Because of the large size of the carcass and the relatively inaccessible location, there was widespread consultation with experts as well as the landowner to identify a suitable solution.
"There was agreement that burying the remains on site was the best option from a safety and logistical perspective."
