A huge 35-foot (10.6-meter) long male humpback whale washed up dead on the shore of a Long Island (NY) beach, sparking concern among environmentalists and dramatic images.
The whale, considered by authorities to be “the largest” seen in that area, was found around 6:30 am yesterday at Lido Beach West Town Park, located in Hempstead, Nassau County police said. It is at least the tenth whale to be stranded in less than two months on the beaches of the Atlantic Ocean, according to ABC News.
“The crews that have been here for nearly two decades have never seen a whale of this size.”
Don Clavin, Hempstead Authority (NY)
By the time the crews arrived, the cetacean was dead, he told News 12 Hempstead City Supervisor Don Clavin.
While stranded whales are common enough — the Jersey shore has sighted seven in about a month — Hempstead hadn’t seen one in several years, Clavin said. “This is by far the largest,” he noted. “The crews that have been here for almost two decades have never seen a whale of this size.”
Crews moved the hulking creature further up the coast, Clavin added. “We had to move the whale to higher ground because of the high tide.”
Then he detailed: “It measures 35 feet long. Just pulling it to shore, we had to bring in a heavy crane. And the cables were breaking because of the tonnage that was required to actually get it to higher ground.”
Meanwhile, locals flocked to the beach on the warm winter day to gawk at the giant mammal. “You don’t see something like this in your life, I get it, but it’s also a very sad day here,” Clavin said. “This whale died and unfortunately there will be people who come here to take a look at it.”
The city announced it would fence off the whale so officials could quickly perform a necropsy and determine the animal’s cause of death. The eventual burial of the large cetacean will require the coordination of several groups, including the Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC). The Atlantic Marine Conversation Society was on the scene but had no immediate comment, it said. New York Post.
In December, despite the efforts of surfers, a 32-foot-long baby female whale died after running aground in Queens, NYC, the sixth case in just a few weeks.
In what has been called a “miracle” of aquatic ecology, in the past decade scientists have noted a resurgence in marine mammal activity and presence around NYC and New Jersey, with reports of humpback whales, dolphins and even seals.
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