A female killer whale was found washed up on a beach at Saleen, near Tramore in County Waterford, by locals, on Saturday.

The Irish Whale and Dolphin Group (IDWG) said the orca, which measured five meters (16') long, possibly died from malnourishment.

“The animal was in very fresh condition and all her teeth were very worn – this may have resulted in her death perhaps from malnutrition or infection.

“This is the 15th stranding for this species on the IWDG cetacean strandings database and the first since October 4, 2010 in Co. Mayo,” according to the the IDWG statement.

"This stranding comes at the end of a month which has seen a disturbingly high number of stranded cetaceans around the Irish coast,” they added.

According to the Irish Independent, the IDWG said they have recorded 32 strandings of 9 identifiable species since the beginning of the year. The group plans to conduct a post-mortem on the whale, which the team said was probably an older female.