Marine biologists are working to determine the cause of death for a young humpback whale that washed up Wednesday, March 12, in Dewey Beach, Delaware. It appears she may have suffered blunt force trauma.
The Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control (DNREC) says a 35-foot-long, 14-ton female humpback was spotted in the surf near the popular Delaware beaches. DNREC responded along with the MERR Institute, a nonprofit stranding response and rehabilitation organization based in Lewes, Delaware, that helps marine mammals and sea turtles.
The MERR Institute tells Chesapeake Bay Magazine the whale washed in after floating south for a day, eventually landing at Delaware Seashore State Park in Dewey Beach, between Rehoboth Beach and Fenwick Island. The group determined the whale was already dead, and conducted a necropsy throughout the day on Thursday. They say the humpback was a juvenile who was still nursing, indicating she was less than a year old. MERR Institute Executive Director Suzanne Thurman says, “She was in relatively good body condition, but there was some indication of blunt force trauma behind her head, which could indicate a ship strike. Samples were collected and will be diagnosed for any underlying conditions such as illness or infection.”
DNREC says that after the necropsy (whale autopsy), the whale was buried in an undisclosed location on the beach, according to protocol.
NOAA has been tracking the deaths of humpback whales and an Unusual Mortality Event is in effect, indicating that the number of humpback whale deaths along the Atlantic coast have been elevated since since January 2016. At least 248 humpbacks have died during the last nine years.
The cause of all those deaths isn’t conclusive. NOAA says of the 90 whales that had necropsies performed, about 40% had evidence of either ship strikes or entanglement. Even so, scientists couldn’t conclude that all of the ship strikes happened before the whales died. NOAA says more research is needed.
DNREC says whale strandings can happen for various reason, from human-caused injuries to illness and environmental factors. Learn more about strandings.
This month MERR Institute has been particularly busy responding to not only stranded whales, but also two grey seal pups who washed up injured on local beaches. One, stuck in the rocks at Indian River Inlet with suspected bite wounds, was rescued and taken to the National Aquarium’s triage center in Ocean City, where it’s believed she’ll recover well after being treated for her wounds. The other, found at Cape Henlopen State Park in Rehoboth, was thin and dehydrated with a large wound, and will receive long-term care at the National Aquarium in Baltimore.
