Dead Humpback Whale Discovered in Long Island Sound

Written by PAIGE MCATEE (Patch Staff)

Humpback whales have been spotted playing in Long Island Sound waters several times in the past month. But unfortunately, a not-so-happy whale sighting was reported in Lloyd Harbor off Huntington, Long Island this weekend.

A dead humpback whale was found in the harbor after a local resident noticed that the whale may have been in distress on Saturday, according to the Town of Huntington.

Measuring about 28-feet, the whale was discovered in an area directly across the Sound from Darien, Conn. It is thought to possibly be the same whale spotted in the Sound over the summer.

The Town Harbormaster responded and confirmed that the female humpback whale was deceased. The Town then contacted the The Riverhead Foundation for Marine Research and Preservation and the Coast Guard, which then took the whale to a Coast Guard facility to determine its cause of death.

“There is no definite cause of death, but the blunt force trauma could be consistent with a ship strike or large vessel,” said Rachel Bosworth, spokeswoman for the nonprofit Riverhead Foundation, told the Connecticut Post. The group did a necropsy on the deceased whale to find out the exact cause of death, according to a post on the group’s Facebook page.

The Foundation says it will make updates on the whale once they become available.

Patch Editor Alfred Branch contributed to this report.

Image via Town of Huntington Facebook page