Skip to main content
Work with the NEU
Giants of British wildlife
Would you believe we have wild mammals in Britain much bigger than elephants? PETER FROST explains
The body of the Sperm Whale washed up at Newbiggin-by-the-Sea in Northumberland in October 2019

CHECK the internet for Britain’s heaviest mammal and the answer will be the red deer. A fully grown healthy stag might weigh in at a quarter of a ton (250kg). Compare that with an African elephant that can weigh up to six tons.

Now marvel at the young – far from fully grown – sperm whale that washed up last week on a beach in north Norfolk. Best estimates reckon that it weighed in at 10 times as much as a bull elephant.

At nearly 60 tons that makes this British wild species one of the heaviest animals in the world. Only the blue whale – reaching up to 200 tons – and a couple of other whale species are heavier.

The 95th Anniversary Appeal
Support the Morning Star
You have reached the free limit.
Subscribe to continue reading.
Similar stories
LIFELONG MUTATIONS: Spermatogenesis commences during puberty and continues throughout life and until old age because of the inexhaustible stem cell reservoir - an abundance of germ cells are developed and delivered from the seminiferous tubules / Pic: CoRus13/CC
Anatomy / 22 October 2025
22 October 2025

New research into mutations in sperm helps us better understand why they occur, while debunking a few myths in the process, write ROX MIDDLETON, LIAM SHAW and MIRIAM GAUNTLETT

Erhai lake
Climate Crisis / 9 October 2025
9 October 2025

One of the major criticisms of China’s breakneck development in recent decades has been the impact on nature — returning after 15 years away, BEN CHACKO assessed whether the government’s recent turn to environmentalism has yielded results

Piles of plastic waste in Thilafushi, Maldives, an artificial island created to manage the country's waste / Pic: Dying Regime/CC
Books / 24 April 2025
24 April 2025

SUE TURNER welcomes a thoughtful, engaging book that lays bare the economic realities of global waste management