A dead minke whale that washed up on a Fife beach has now been removed.
The eight-metre male was discovered at Cellardyke over the weekend.
It is thought the creature had been floating in the water off the Fife coast for several days before ending up on the shore.
Efforts to move the whale and discard of its carcass got under way after Fife Council and the Scottish SPCA were alerted.
It is understood a specialist firm removed the whale from Cellardyke – near Anstruther – overnight from Tuesday into Wednesday.
From there it was towed by sea along the coast to Burntisland, brought ashore, and taken to landfill for disposal.
The beach car park, which was temporarily closed after the discovery, has now reopened.
A statement from the Beacon Leisure Centre in Burntisland on Tuesday said: “An eight-metre male minke whale was washed up on a beach by the village of Cellardyke on Sunday.
“Contractors working on behalf of Fife Council are looking to relocate the whale to the beach front car park for its safe removal.
“Our car park will close to the public from 8pm tonight and it is anticipated that the whale carcass will be brought ashore tomorrow morning at 5am via the public slipway.
“All being well the car park will be open to the public by noon if not earlier tomorrow.”
Responding to concerns raised about the sea creature on Twitter, Fife Council posted: “The team are aware of this and they are trying to arrange for the disposal of the whale.”
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