Young humpback whale is found dead in Whalehead Beach on Outer Banks, NC rescuers say
A humpback whale was found dead on an Outer Banks beach Thursday, North Carolina rescuers say.
Deputies with the Currituck County Sheriff’s Office found the whale in the Whalehead Beach community in Corolla at about 11 a.m. while patrolling the shoreline, Karen Clark, director of the Outer Banks Center for Wildlife Education, told McClatchy News.
The center is a partner in the Outer Banks Marine Mammal Stranding Network.
The North Carolina Wildlife Resources Agency responded to the beach and researchers with UNC-Wilmington came the next day to help, Clark said.
The whale was on the beach for about 24 hours and was removed Friday, Clark said.
It was already “pretty decomposed” so rescuers weren’t able to determine how it died or why it washed up on the beach, Clark said.
The whale was a juvenile and about 27 feet long, Clark said.
A young “common dolphin” also washed ashore on the Outer Banks on Thursday, according to the Outer Banks Marine Mammal Stranding Network.
Rescuers with Cape Hatteras National Seashore responded to the dolphin.
There have been six strandings on the Outer Banks since Jan. 4, according to the network. The humpback found Thursday has been the only stranded whale reported recently.
Clark said her team, which covers Ocracoke Island to the state line, gets about 100 stranding every year. Winter is the prime season for them.
A whale is considered stranded when it’s found dead on the beach or floating in the water or when it’s alive on the beach but unable to get back in the water, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
Marine Mammals strand for many reasons, including injury, disease or infection, starvation, entrapment in fishing equipment, parasitism or “unusual” weather events, NOAA says.
If you see a stranded animal on the beach, call the local stranding network or use Dolphin & Whale 911, but don’t try to push it back in the water or handle it, NOAA says.
To report a stranded animal on the beach in Currituck, Dare or Hyde counties call 252-455-9654. To report one on Cape Hatteras National Seashore property, call 252-216-6892.
