A dead sperm whale that washed up on a Nantucket beach is making waves for local officials who are trying to move it.
The 50-foot, 104,000-pound male sperm whale appeared on the island off Massachusetts on Nov. 16, according to a statement from the nonprofit group Marine Mammal Alliance Nantucket (MMAN).
While MMAN initially aimed to remove the animal from the beach to perform a necropsy and determine its cause of death, the group determined that wouldn’t be possible after consulting with experts from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the International Fund for Animal Welfare.
“The conclusion was that this whale was far too big, awkward and heavy to remove from the beach. No amount of equipment could pull it off,” MMAN said on Nov. 17.
A 52-ton sperm whale washed up on Nantucket on Nov. 16, 2025.
A moment to pay respects
In a press release on Nov. 20, MMAN said the animal was anchored to the beach and marked with a satellite carcass tag in case it broke free. Officials have also begun to take samples of the whale’s tissues and organs in an effort to research the animal and possibly determine its cause of death.
On Nov. 19, representatives from NOAA removed the whale’s lower jaw and secured it off island, but not before the team memorialized it.
“MMAN Stranding Coordinator gathered everyone for moment to pay respects to this magnificent creature and its passing. Visitors through-out the day brought flowers and strewed petals around the whale,” MMAN said in a press release.
Whale will be brought out to open ocean to decompose
Officials have decided to bring the carcass out to the open ocean to decompose, MMAN said.
“The Town of Nantucket has been consulting with numerous contractors to remove the animal from the beach and take it far out to open ocean where it can safely decompose,” the Nov. 20 press release said.
MMAN added that leaving the whale to decompose on the beach or allowing it to eventually wash out into the ocean would cause “serious hazard to beach goers, swimmers and vessels.” Two local whaling museums, the Nantucket Whaling Museum and the New Bedford Whaling Museum, were able to take the remains, the group said.
“Decomposing whale carcasses are very beneficial to the ocean ecosystem,” the release said.
Last sperm whale to wash up on Nantucket was more than two decades ago
The last time a sperm whale washed ashore Nantucket was in June 2002, according to the local news outlet Nantucket Current and reporting from The Cape Cod Times, part of the USA TODAY Network.
That whale was eventually towed by tugboat to New Bedford, Massachusetts, and its skull hangs in the New Bedford Whaling Museum.
According to the Massachusetts Division of Fisheries and Wildlife, the more common whale species that can be found off the state’s shores are northern right whales and humpback whales.
Melina Khan is a national trending reporter for USA TODAY. She can be reached at melina.khan@usatoday.com.Â
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Dead sperm whale washed up on Nantucket, but it’s too big to remove