![\"Animal](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/YMARSULZBVFDTP6J64NTFO2LFM.JPG\")
Animal stranding response crews inspect a 35,000-pound humpback whale that washed up stuck under a private dock in Winthrop on Wednesday.Whale & Dolphin Conservation USA<\/p>\nA 30 foot-long, 35,000-pound whale washed up in a mudflat beneath a dock in Winthrop on Wednesday, animal protection officials said. <\/p>\n
The whale, a \u201cjuvenile humpback,\u201d was first located, stranded, and trapped under a dock off Washington Avenue around 12:30 p.m. on Wednesday during a high tide, according to officials for the animal rescue group Whale & Dolphin Conservation USA.<\/p>\n
Animal stranding response crews inspect a 35,000-pound humpback whale that washed up stuck under a private dock in Winthrop on Wednesday.Whale & Dolphin Conservation USA<\/p>\n
The agency, which monitors 300 miles of coastline including from Plymouth to Revere, responded around 5:30 p.m. to examine the animal along with officials from the Massachusetts Environmental Police and the Winthrop Harbormaster. Its cause of death has yet to be determined, officials said in a news release. <\/p>\n
Rescue crews are continuing to work Thursday to identify a suitable place to move the whale and conduct a necropsy, or animal autopsy, said Caroline Genther, assistant stranding coordinator for WDC. Currently, the whale is stranded underneath a dock on private property, officials said. <\/p>\n
Genther added that extraction of the whale and a necropsy are unlikely to occur for a few more days. <\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s the height of summer \u2026 things are [especially] logistically difficult,\u201d she said. <\/p>\n
WDC officials said that their work has also been hampered by federal funding cuts.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe federal funding freezes and delays in funding opportunities we have experienced in the past year do not stop whales from stranding, but they do disrupt our ability to respond,\u201d Regina Asmutis-Silvia, the organization\u2019s executive director, said in the release.<\/p>\n
Wednesday\u2019s incident marks the first large whale stranding of the year in Massachusetts, according to Genther. Last year there were no major whale beaching incidents, but in 2024 officials responded to six strandings in six months<\/a>, she added. <\/p>\n On the whole, marine mammal strandings<\/a> are increasing in the area, a trend<\/a> researchers attribute to shifts in habitat and prey activity resulting from global warming. <\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re seeing more animals close to shore and in Boston Harbor,\u201d Genther said. <\/p>\n Just this week, marine rescue crews on Cape Cod responded to the largest ever mass stranding of bottle nose dolphins in the Northeast<\/a> on Brewster beaches. <\/p>\n \u201cWe are heartbroken at the loss of this young animal,\u201d wrote Lauren Brandkamp, WDC\u2019s stranding coordinator. \u201cWe are currently working with federal, state, municipal, tribal liaison, and community partners to determine a course of action for this whale. The more information we can discover through internal and external examinations, the better we can advocate for policies to protect these animals and their ocean home.\u201d<\/p>\n The WDC said they also reached out with condolences to the Wampanoag Tribes across southeastern Massachusetts, which consider whales to be members of their family. <\/p>\n Bryan Hecht can be reached at bryan.hecht@globe.com<\/a>. Follow him on Instagram @bhechtjournalism<\/a>.<\/p>\n