LIDO BEACH, N.Y. (PIX11) — A dead whale was found on a Long Island beach Monday morning.
The humpback whale washed ashore on Lido Beach, a South Shore park run by the Town of Hempstead, around 6 a.m., officials said. AIR11 was over the beach Monday morning.
NOAA Fisheries measured the massive mammal at 41 feet. The humpback whale has no visible signs of injury, but investigators are hoping a necropsy will lead them to a cause of death. Bulldozers and diggers were brought in to drag the whale to higher ground so it could be preserved for examination.
A crowd of people gathered to see the whale. While people were sad to see the loss of life, they were also in awe of such a beautiful and enormous sea creature rarely seen on the sand.
“It’s sad, but we couldn’t miss the opportunity to see a beached whale,” bystander Kate Magee told PIX11 News.
This is at least the 10th whale to wash up on the shores of New York and New Jersey in just two months, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. While officials look for a cause of death, NOAA Fisheries confirmed it’s investigating elevated unusual humpback whale deaths along the Atlantic coast, from Maine to Florida, since 2016.
The deaths have sparked community concern about the potential harm offshore wind farm development may be doing to marine life.
Whatever the cause is, Town of Hempstead Supervisor Donald Clavin Jr. said he hopes it is discovered soon.
“It’s majestic to see it but it’s also a very sad day. It’s a loss of a life, of a beautiful creature and hopefully, they can find out what the cause was because it’s happening a little too often.”
