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Dead Whale Was 58 Feet Long, Had Bite Marks On Its Side
By
Jen Chung
Published Oct 10, 2014
Modified Oct 10, 2014
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Riverhead Foundation
By
Jen Chung
Published Oct 10, 2014
Modified Oct 10, 2014
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The whale that washed up on a Long Island shore yesterday was in a state of "advanced decomposition."
The 58-foot male finback whale was discovered around 8 a.m. at Smith County Park in Shirley, and Newsday reports that Kim Durham of the Riverhead Foundation said that the whale had bite marks on it, "indicating that large sea animals, possibly a shark, had fed on the carcass post-mortem." She added that "most of the skin is missing from the animal." In fact, the bite marks were described as being "bigger than a Chihuahua."
Finback whales are not uncommon to the waters off New York. They are the second largest whales (after the blue whale), growing to about 75 feet in the Northern Hemisphere. NOAA says that there have been instances when finbacks have mated with blue whales, creating hybrids; also, "Fin whales are large, fast swimmers and the killer whale (Orcinus orca) is their only non-human predator."
Regarding the leatherback sea turtle that also washed up, it's believed the two incidents are unrelated, since the turtle actually washed up on Tuesday. Durham said, "We had a spike in sea turtle deaths. Some people will say it’s because our water is bad but we had an amazing whale season this summer, which means the food supply is here and the water quality is good."
Marine biologists will perform a necropsy.
Tagged
beached whale
finback whale
leatherback turtle
long island
turtle
whale
Jen Chung
Jen Chung is a former WNYC and Gothamist editor.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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