January 13, 2017
Marine Mammal Stranding Center/Facebook
A 25-ton whale was found dead along Long Beach Island.
Crews were figuring out how to remove a 25-ton, dead, baby humpback whale Friday after it was found washed ashore on Long Beach Island.
The Marine Mammal Stranding Center posted a photo of the animal after it was spotted on a remote sandbar by a Ted Kingston, a photographer and pilot. Kingston was taking aerial photos above the area by the Little Egg Inlet off Holgate on Wednesday, NJ.com reported.
The stranding center told the newspaper that they're not yet sure of the cause of death and that the mammal didn't have any "obvious marks" on its body.
Officials are now waiting for a storm to move the animal to an area that's easier to access in order to remove the remains.
This whale joins a several others removed by the stranding center during the past few months months. In late December, crews removed a dead Blainville's beaked whale, a very rare mammal species, near Island Beach State Park. Also, another humpback whale had washed up along Sea Isle beach in September.
The stranding center did not respond immediately to an request for comment Friday.
