Kids & Family

Humpback Whale Found Dead at Gilgo Beach

Second humpback death this year after being found on Babylon Town beach.

A humpback whale was found dead on Gilgo Beach on Tuesday morning, entangled in fishing nets, according to the Riverhead Foundation for Marine Research and Preservation.

According to Newsday, a surfer found the large mammal beached about a mile east of Gilgo Beach in Babylon. The female, weighing about 20 tons, showed signs of trauma associated with the fishing net, program director Kimberly Durham said.

Humpback whales are on both the New York State and United States federal endangered species lists and the Department of Environmental Conservation is investigating this as a "fisheries incident" Durham told the newspaper.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) will also get involved in the investigation once federal funding is returned, Durham said.

The humpback wast the second found dead on Long Island in 2013 and was buried at the site.


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