Photo courtesy Marine Mammal Stranding Center
BEACH HAVEN — A young humpback whale that became stranded on a sandbar off the coast of Long Beach Island died Sunday after rescue teams determined it could not survive, officials said.
The 29-foot whale was first spotted Friday afternoon in shallow water west of Beach Haven by a New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection aerial survey crew, according to the Marine Mammal Stranding Center. The U.S. Coast Guard helped locate the whale again early Saturday as stranding center staff traveled by boat to assess its condition.
Officials said the whale appeared weak and emaciated, with injuries consistent with a previous propeller strike on both sides of its dorsal area. Rescuers determined that the animal was unlikely to live, as stranded whales often suffer internal damage from the pressure of their own body weight.
Because beach erosion from a recent storm made it impossible to move the whale for humane euthanasia, crews instead sedated the animal to keep it calm overnight. However, by early Sunday morning, the whale was found dead when a Sea Tow of Atlantic City crew returned to the site at high tide.
Photo courtesy Marine Mammal Stranding Center
Stranding center personnel later confirmed the death and issued a statement on social media.
“Our entire team is deeply saddened by every deceased animal that we investigate, but the ones that hit the hardest are animals like this young whale who never got the chance to contribute to their species,” the Marine Mammal Stranding Center said in a statement.