Incredible pictures show 50 foot sperm whale washed up on beach

A 50-foot sperm whale has washed ashore on a beach in California, drawing large crowds of tourists and photographers.

The huge marine mammal was discovered bleeding from its head on Shark Park State Beach on Tuesday.

It is the seventeenth sperm whale to wash up on the North California coast in the last 40 years according to experts at the Marine Mammal centre.

It was unclear what would be done with the huge decomposing carcass but marine researchers are currently performing a necropsy on the animal to discover how it died.

In the meantime, the giant creature's corpse has been attracting camera wielding tourists and locals to the beach.

The whale was believed to be an adult male and looked to have been emaciated for some time before its death.

Whales are at risk from boating accidents, particularly at this time of year as they arrive in the San Francisco bay area in large numbers, often very close to shore.

Because of this, The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has asked San Francisco Bay Area boaters to watch out for and steer clear of whales.