Whale That Died In North Fork Creek Likely Diseased: Experts

SOUTHOLD, NY — A whale that died overnight Thursday after it was trapped in a creek in Southold was likely diseased, officials said.

A necropsy performed Saturday confirmed that the minke whale was 20 feet in length and a male, according to Rob DiGiovanni, Jr. chief scientist at the Atlantic Marine Conservation Society.

Although tissues have been sent to the pathologist to determine the cause of death, so far, the findings are consistent with other whale fatalities where disease is determined to be the causal factor, DiGiovanni said.

Also, the whale had a "thinner blubber coat,"and was thin, indicating that it was compromised in some way, he said.

The whale was found in Goose Creek off Waterview Drive, according to residents in the area.

According to DiGiovanni, the whale was unresponsive Thursday night, so it was sedated to "reduce its suffering."

Southold Town Police said the whale was discovered at 3 p.m. by a paddleboarder in Goose Creek. The minke whale, about 3,500 lbs., was beached in the creek in the mud, police said.

AMSEAS said that the whale seemed to be undernourished and might have a possible neurological condition, police said.

DiGiovanni said AMSEAS worked with Southold Town and other agencies to secure the whale, move it offsite to the landfill, and conduct a necropsy so information can be gathered.

"It's odd and unusual for the animal to be in that area," DiGiovanni said, adding that he could only speculate as to how it ended up there. "There definitely seems like there was something wrong with the animal."

Minke whales, in recent years, have been in the middle of an unusual mortality event, he added.

"We are finding neurological issues that we are still trying to understand," he said.

The whale was unresponsive but still alive Thursday night, DiGiovanni said. With NOAA Fisheries and the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation at the scene, the decision was made to sedate the whale "to alleviate as much of the stress as possible," he said.

NOAA Fisheries and AMCS ha planned to work together to look at other options Friday morning, he added. On Thursday night it was getting dark, and the whale was beached in mud, making it unsafe and hazardous to proceed, DiGiovanni said.

The whale did not appear as though it would be able to float out of the area and, DiGiovanni said, euthanization was considered as an option, had the whale not died naturally. Sedation, he said, was used to make the whale more comfortable.

All present worked well together and aimed to alleviate the whale's stress, he said.

The whale sparked an outpouring of response from the community, with many concerned about its survival and speculating how he ended up in small creek on the North Fork.

The New York Marine Rescue Center initially confirmed that the whale was stranded.