For the seventh time this century, a pilot whale has washed up in the Netherlands

A pilot whale washed ashore on Vlieland on Sunday. The animal has died and will be transferred to Utrecht University for research.

A pilot whale has washed ashore in the Netherlands six times before this century. The last time was in 2018, when one stranded in Egmond aan Zee.

The pilot whale is a type of whale from the dolphin family. It is not often that the animal is spotted near the Netherlands.

“We call this a visitor to the North Sea. Pilot whales live in Europe in the sea between Scotland and Iceland,” says Van den Berg.

The pilot whale is the second-largest dolphin species after the orca. The animal can grow between 3 and 8 meters long. It is not yet known how large the stranded pilot whale on Vlieland is, or what gender the animal is.