A young humpback whale whose high-spirited antics charmed watchers off Massachusetts in the summer has been found dead on a beach in Delaware, whale specialists said.
A whale-watching group in Massachusetts described the death as “most likely a tragic accident” involving a ship and said the whale was recognizable as one that drew admirers off Cape Cod.
The humpback, 32-feet long and estimated to weigh at least 10 tons, washed up Thursday in a Bethany Beach community, said the Marine Education Research and Rehabilitation Institute, a Delaware nonprofit.
The male washed up in the community of Ocean Ridge on Thursday after floating at sea for a couple of days, said the institute, which responds to strandings.
After it was towed to shore with heavy equipment, a necropsy team from the institute examined the whale Friday, determining it suffered a blunt force injury consistent with being hit by a ship.
The symptoms were hemorrhaging beneath the skin and a broken jaw on its right side.
Such injuries are “often associated with a large ship strike,” the institute said. The nature of the wounds indicated that the whale was struck while alive.
The whale was buried on the beach, the institute said, adding that large whales cannot be towed safely out to sea.
The humpback was recognized by an organization on Cape Cod that offers whale-watching cruises. Hyannis Whale Watcher described it as “a whale we came to know and love.”
“We affectionately nicknamed him ‘Oil Change’ for a large, solid white spot on his fluke,” the group said.
It said the youngster “stole our hearts in late July, spending over an hour flipper slapping, rolling near the boat, and breaching.”
The Massachusetts group said it “continued to see him into September in Cape Cod Bay.”
The death, it said, was a reminder of the perils these animals face every day.
Normally, one specialist said, large whales might become stranded in Delaware waters once every two to three years, but at least three such incidents were reported last year.
Bethany Beach, as well as nearby Rehoboth, Delaware, and Ocean City, Maryland, are resorts popular with residents of the Washington region.
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