'Suspect Bruising' Found On Dead Whale Washed Up In Amagansett

AMAGANSETT, NY — A necropsy performed on a dead whale that washed up in Amagansett Sunday showed "some suspect bruising," the Atlantic Marine Conservation Society said.

AMSEAS completed the necropsy examination Sunday afternoon on the 33.8-foot, sub-adult stranded female humpback whale; the whale had a "decent layer of blubber and food in its stomach," indicating that the animal had been eating, AMSEAS said.

In addition to detecting the bruising, biologists collected tissue samples, which will be sent to a pathologist to determine if there was any evidence of trauma; those results may take several months to come back, AMSEAS said.

With an eye toward East Hampton Town protocol, the whale was taken to an offsite disposal facility.

The humpback whale was located near Atlantic Avenue when it washed up onto shore.

The whale was originally reported just offshore of Amagansett by the United States Coast Guard and the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation Saturday night and was seen in the surf by 8 p.m., AMSEAS said.

On Sunday, the AMSEAS team arrived onsite at 8:45 a.m. to begin an examination to determine a cause of death, if possible, for the animal, "and to continue building on the knowledge gained through the stranding network on the challenges whales, and all marine mammals and sea turtles, are facing in our waters," AMSEAS said.

Due to safety protocols put in place under Gov. Andrew Cuomo during the coronavirus pandemic, the team said it took every necessary precaution to stay safe. The AMSEAS team also encouraged members of the public to follow all social distancing and health safety recommendations if heading to a beach.

AMSEAS worked with NYS DEC, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration / fisheries, East Hampton Town's marine patrol, and the town of East Hampton to conduct Sunday's examination.

After the whale was found in Amagansett, the town's marine patrol and ocean lifeguards secured the scene and contacted environmental agencies, town officials said. Heavy machinery was used to move the whale out of the surf and remove it from the beach for disposal.

The whale was outside of the lifeguarded area at Atlantic Beach, which is one of the four ocean beaches that East Hampton has opened for the summer, to residents only, with COVID-19 safety precautions.

There has been an unusual mortality event in effect for humpback whales along the Atlantic coast since 2016.

The whale marked AMSEAS's fourth large whale stranding of 2020, with three strandings taking place during the last three weeks, officials said; it is the second humpback whale to strand on Long Island this year.

A 32-foot whale washed up on the beach at Cupsogue in Westhampton last week.

The first response was a humpback whale that washed ashore at Jacob Riis Park on March 31; at that time, due to the coronavirus pandemic and social distancing guidelines, biologists were not able to conduct a full examination, AMSEAS said.

The third stranding that took place in the past three weeks include a minke whale in Oyster Bay, AMSEAS said.

“Each large whale stranding is always a unique case,” AMSEAS chief scientist Robert A. DiGiovanni, Jr. said. “With the addition of COVID-19, we've had to adapt to a new set of challenges in our response efforts. Safety has always been and will always continue to be a top priority."

The public is urged to keep a recommended distance of 150-feet from marine mammals and sea turtles at all times. Deceased marine mammals, including large whales, still pose a public safety threat, especially when in the surf, AMSEAS said. Strandings should be reported immediately to the NYS Stranding Hotline at 631-369-9829.