A 25-foot juvenile male humpback whale estimated to weigh 10 tons has washed ashore at Church Cove in Little Compton, RI.
The whale was discovered on Saturday and is expected to remain there until spring when weather will make it easier to move.
The RI DEM will work with Mystic Aquarium to determine a cause of death.
“There are no signs of entanglements from fishing lines or nets, no obvious scars, and no signs of a traumatic injury such as having been struck by a boat propeller,” DEM spokesman Mike Healey said. “These factors make the necropsy important. Every necropsy provides a data point that helps scientists understand whales, their environment, and the ocean a little better.”
“Whales are magnificent and in the truest sense of the word, awesome and humbling,” Healey continued. “It’s really sad when one dies, that’s why we view a stranding like this, which has left an intact whale on our shores, as a gift to science.”
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