New York – New York Marine biologists will try to determine what killed a humpback whale whose carcass has washed up on a New York City beach.
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The approximately 30-foot (9-meter)-long whale was found on Rockaway Beach in Queens on Tuesday morning.
Volunteers and city fire crews tied the whale’s tail to a tractor to prevent it from floating away. The whale’s weight prevented it from being moved farther on shore.
Experts from the Atlantic Marine Conservation Society are helping to coordinate the whale’s necropsy and removal starting Wednesday. Marine biologists say disease could have killed the humpback or a collision with a vessel caused fatal injuries.
Once the necropsy is completed the carcass will be buried in a deep trench on the beach.
Humpback whales can grow to up to 60 feet (18 meters) and weigh 40 tons (36 metric tons).
