LIDO BEACH, N.Y. (AP) – A humpback whale that washed ashore on a New York beach.
A necropsy will determine the exact cause of death of the whale. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration officials said.
A necropsy team including representatives from the Atlantic Marine Conservation Society, NOAA Fisheries. The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation. The Mystic Aquarium Animal Response Program. And the Marine Mammal Stranding Center assembled Tuesday. And cut through the blubber to collect samples of the whale’s internal organs. organs, NOAA officials said in a statement.
Officials said the whale was likely killed by a ship. But more will be known once the results of the samples are available. Officials said the whale’s level of decomposition indicated. It had died several days before washing ashore. Contrary to initial reports that the animal had beached itself while still alive.
The whale was about 41 feet (12 meters) long and weighed 29,000 pounds (13,154 kilograms), officials said.
NOAA, which handles the nation’s oceans and fisheries. Said 19 humpback whales stranded on the U.S. Atlantic coast last year. In the first month of this year, seven whales have already washed up on Florida beaches from Maine.
