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Dead humpback whale washes up on Rio’s Ipanema beach

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A boy plays near the carcass of a humpback whale on Ipanema beach, in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Wednesday, Nov. 15, 2017. Biologist Rafael Carvalho said the whale appears to have been dead for a few days. Authorities were urging beachgoers who had flocked to Ipanema on a national holiday to stay away from the animal. (AP Photo/Silvia Izquierdo)

RIO DE JANEIRO – A dead humpback whale has washed up on the shores of Rio de Janeiro’s Ipanema beach.

Biologist Rafael Carvalho says Wednesday the whale appears to have been dead for a few days. Its body was decomposing and giving off a strong smell. Authorities were urging beachgoers who had flocked to Ipanema on a national holiday to stay away from the animal.

Carvalho of the State University of Rio de Janeiro says it is not clear how the whale died. Beachings are common along Brazil’s coast as whales migrate between their feeding and breeding grounds, but this year has seen a few more than is typical.

The whale is approximately 13 yards (12 metres) long and weighs around 25 tons.

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Abbey Westbury

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