Many people have rushed to take selfies after the carcass of a monster 66ft Blue whale washed up on a beach in Chile.
The carcass of the 66ft blue whale
A huge 66ft blue whale has washed up on a beach in Chile. The whale was discovered on the shoreline of Punta Arenas in the Magallanes Region of the country.
However, many people have been left shocked after some beachgoers were spotted stomping on the dead animal's body and covering it with graffiti.
According to
Dailymail, people were also taking selfies, clambering on the dead mammal's body and trampling on its back.
Footprints could be seen on its carcass and one online picture showed how someone had scrawled 'Ana, I love you' on its flank. Furious social media users have hit out at the 'vandals'.
One, called Carmen Julia Gonzalez Escanilla, said: 'We are losing respect and empathy for everything today.'
Xieman Hernandez added: 'So stupid, every day we get worse. How would the people who did this like to have their dead bodies written on? They do not respect anything!'
The whale has now been taken away by Chilean authorities to establish its cause of death.
Initial reports suggest that it could have died from an illness or possibly following a collision with a ship, although it displayed no obvious signs of physical injury.
Marine specialists will report on their investigation into the blue whale's death later this week. The blue whale is the largest animal known to have ever existed, however they are difficult to weigh because of their enormity.
The heaviest blue whale recorded weighed 190 metric tonnes and was a southern hemisphere female.