Dead Humpback Whale Discovered On Assateague Island Near MD, VA Coast

BERLIN, MD — A dead humpback whale washed ashore on Assateague Island last week, and officials are unsure what caused the sea mammal's death.

The 20-foot-long whale was found Jan. 16 on a beach on Assateague Island, a 37-mile-long barrier island located off the eastern coasts of Maryland and Virginia near the Delmarva Peninsula. The discovery prompted National Park Service officials to close a part of the Maryland Oversand Vehicle Area to remove the carcass.

Park Service staff worked with the Maryland Department of Natural Resources Stranding Response Program and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association to remove the whale.

In a statement issued following the discovery, Park Service officials said there were no "obvious signs to the cause of death." A necropsy was scheduled for Jan. 17, and officials have not released the results.

Following the necropsy, the whale's carcass was moved to the dunes and allowed to dry out prior to its eventual burial.

The whale is the latest to wash ashore in the coastal United States, leaving many experts and sea life enthusiasts searching for answers.

On Jan. 12, a dead humpback whale washed ashore near Brigantine, New Jersey, marking the seventh in 39 days to be found on state shores.

Preliminary results from a necropsy done on the whale showed that it was likely struck by a vessel, according to the Marine Mammal Stranding Center

On Dec. 13, a sperm whale was found dead on New York City's Rockaway shoreline. The whale marked the sixth to strand in New York since Oct. 20, NOAA said.

Another sperm whale was found in Southampton on Oct. 21 and eventually euthanized. Another that stranded on Gilgo Beach and was pushed back into the water, NOAA said.

Since January 2016, NOAA has recorded a spike in humpback whale deaths along the Atlantic coast. At 35, Massachusetts has recorded the most whale deaths, followed by New York with 34 whale deaths and Virginia with 26. The deaths prompted NOAA to declare an "unusual mortality event."