A dolphin that was the first of its kind washed up in the southern North Sea since the 1960s had swallowed part of a rubber glove, a post-mortem examination has found.
The Risso's dolphin was found dead on Great Yarmouth's South Beach on Saturday May 12.
The carcass was recovered by the Cetacean Strandings Investigation Programme (CSIP), which carried out tests.
Rob Deaville, who dissected the juvenile male, said it was thin and showed no evidence of feeding, adding that it was the 'most significant factor' in its death.
He called the presence of the thumb of a rubber glove in the stomach 'interesting but incidental'.
Mr Deaville, a marine biologist and project manager of UK CSIP, said: 'At the moment the poor nutritional condition is the most significant factor. It's lost a lot of muscle mass. It's actually pretty thin.'
CSIP said the Risso's was the first stranded in the southern North Sea since one was found in Kent in 1963.
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