ASSATEAGUE ISLAND, Md. — A dead whale was found washed up on the beach at Assateague Island last week.
The whale was determined to be a 25-foot male humpack that's a "subadult" (meaning, he is weaned but not fully mature), confirmed the Maryland Department of Natural Resources and an Assateague Island National Seashore spokesperson.
The carcass was found on the north end of the island on the afternoon of Jan. 31.
Assateague superintendent Hugh Hawthorne said:
It had been dead for a while and showed strong evidence of postmortem predation. It has already been buried on the island.
The carcass was moved out of the tidal zone, and a necropsy was done Feb. 2. DNR said "a definitive cause of death was unable to be determined... and samples are being shipped for diagnostic analysis."
Another dead whale washed up at Assateague almost exactly a year ago. That was also a humpback whale.
