Just about 77 miles outside of New York City, a 58 ft fin whale washed up near campgrounds of Smith County Park in Shirley, NY. The wale was found early Thursday, Oct 9, around 8 a.m.
In an advanced state of decomposition, Director Kim Durham of the Riverhead Foundation for Marine Research and Preservation conducted an external search with several team members. They identified the whale as an adult male and weighted 30 to 40 tons.
There were numerous bite marks possibly made by large sea animals. Durham indicated that it could have been a shark that fed on the carcass. Durham also stated that the whale’s skin was completely gone.
Whale washes up at Smith Point County Park http://t.co/Vai1tH6pZn pic.twitter.com/TlRzSuYAJY
— News12LI (@News12LI) October 9, 2014
Considered the second largest species of whales, fin whales are common in the New York area. “We have been documenting finback whales in waters off New York all summer,” she said. “So it’s not surprising.”
Samples were taken Friday, in order to conduct an internal examination to determine the cause of death. The remains of the whale will be buried on the beach.
A video recorded by Newsday can be found here.
photo via flickr/Department of Environment & Primary Industries
