A 31-foot (9.5m) dead female minke whale has been found washed ashore on a beach in Scotland.

The marine mammal has been pictured lying on its side on the beach at North Berwick harbour, around 20 miles (32km) east of Edinburgh.

It was first seen in the area on Wednesday, East Lothian Council said.

A picture posted on the council’s Twitter page shows the beached creature’s underside, with the local town in the background.

It said it was preparing to have the remains taken away and urged people not to approach the site nor let any dogs near it.

The tweet said: “Unfortunately a dead minke whale has washed up at North Berwick.

“We are currently arranging for its removal but the public are advised to keep a suitable distance from the whale and not to allow dogs to go near the carcass.”

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A council spokesman told the Press Association: “Yesterday afternoon it had washed close to the harbour and then, with the movement of the tide, it went out to sea and came back in the morning time.”

The area around the whale has been cordoned off by police.

Conservation charity the Scottish Seabird Centre said on Twitter on Wednesday: “Very sad sight this afternoon – a dead minke whale just off North Berwick harbour.

“This stranding has been reported to the Scottish Marine Animal Stranding Scheme (Smass), which collates and analyses all reports of stranded cetaceans and can carry out autopsies to understand more about the health and ecology of these fascinating marine animals.”

Minkes are the smallest of the baleen whales, and the most common of the species found in Scotland, conservation advisory group, NatureScot, said on its website, and can be seen in the country’s coastal and inshore waters between April and October.

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