A young humpback whale washed ashore on Wednesday evening in Winthrop, Massachusetts, and crews have been trying to figure out how to remove it from under a dock.
Investigation Underway
Federal, state, and local officials are investigating what happened to the 35,000-pound juvenile whale — its cause of death remained unknown on Thursday.
Massachusetts Environmental Police and the Winthrop Harbormaster responded to reports that the whale was ensnared under a dock off Pleasant Street, and the animal protection organization Whale and Dolphin Conservation said it was at the scene and is working with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to conduct a necropsy, or animal autopsy, to learn more about how it died.
“We are heartbroken at the loss of this young animal,” said Lauren Brandkamp, stranding coordinator at Whale and Dolphin Conservation – North America. “We are currently working with federal, state, municipal, tribal liaison, and community partners to determine a course of action for this whale. The more information we can discover through internal and external examinations, the better we can advocate for policies to protect these animals and their ocean home.”
The whale was stuck in the mud and the earliest it can be moved is at low tide Thursday night, officials said, though where the whale can be taken for its necroscopy was complicating the logistics.
People who live in the area were trying to figure out how the whale ended up under the dock. “I never thought of a whale that close,” said longtime Winthrop resident Billy Hubert. “Usually past Deer Island I think of the whales, but not around here.” He hoped the animal “didn’t die in an awful way.”
Increased Strandings
In the last decade, NOAA has recorded an increase in strandings of humpback, minke, and North Atlantic right whales, which are critically endangered, along the East Coast, according to Whale and Dolphin Conservation. It pointed to accidental entanglements in fishing gear, vessel strikes, and infectious disease as the primary causes of the whales’ deaths.
Original reporting: NBC10 Boston — read the source article.
