Blood, guts and suspiciously mangled fins: inside a porpoise autopsy

On a steel table at London Zoo sleuths are trying to solve a tricky whodunit: what is killing the UK's cetaceans?Warning: some of the images contain graphic contentThe corpse lies on the stainless steel table. Next to it, a tray of sharp blades, pliers and what look like garden implements. The body - dark-skinned above, but pale underneath - was found on the beach at Barmston, Yorkshire, in March, with its dorsal fin mysteriously missing. It's a harbour porpoise - and I'm here for its autopsy. For about 15 years, I have volunteered for Devon Wildlife Trust's Marine Strandings Network, taking photos of dozens of marine mammals, from decomposing dolphins to scarred porpoises. Each one is a crime scene - teeth marks suggest a bottlenose dolphin attack; a missing tail fluke may be due to stray fishing gear; gashes could be caused by a boat propeller. Continue reading...