Dolphin found washed up on Cornish beach with a giant ‘shark bite’…or was it just a boat?

A PROBE has been launched after a dolphin was washed up on a beach with a giant “shark bite” taken out of its stomach.

The creature was discovered by a dog walker on Polly Joke beach near Newquay, Cornwall.

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The gruesome metre-long wound left its ribs clearly visible.

Experts are now probing whether the gash was made by a shark.

Shocked builder Jake O’Mahoney, 27, who found the creature on Sunday afternoon while walking his Beagle Obi, said: “It was a gruesome sight and it stank.

“I’ve lived Cornwall all my life, you get the odd dead seal being washed up but I’ve never seen anything like that.

“The wound looks exactly like a shark bite, it’s round and all the dolphins insides are missing.

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“We have lots of shocks in this area, I do a bit of surfing so I’ve done a bit of research and the only shark I think could be big enough is a mako shark.”

One expert suggested the injury may have come from a collision with a boat, while the Cornwall Wildlife Trust suggested sea birds could be the culprit.

Its Marine Awareness Officer Matt Slater said: "Volunteers from Cornwall Marine Strandings Network have been out to this carcass and they have recorded and photographed it.

"It is very decomposed and has clearly been dead for some time and is decomposing. We often find that in time large holes can be created by scavenging sea birds pecking away at a dead animal.

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"The edges of the hole have many small lines probably created by seagull beaks indicating that this is most likely the cause in this case."

According to Cornwalllife.co.uk the Porbeagle Shark, the Thresher Shark and Blue Shark are also known to inhabit the waters around the county.

The dolphin is the 11th to be washed up on beaches in the county in as many days.

In August the headless carcass of a dolphin was found with huge teeth marks and puncture wounds on Portreath beach in Cornwall.

It sparked fears a huge shark was lurking off the coast.

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