Giant Whale Washes Up On Long Island Beach With Bite Marks ‘Bigger Than A Chihuahua’


A giant whale washed up on a Long Island beach this week sporting bite marks “bigger than a Chihuahua,” wildlife officials said.

The 58-foot fin whale was found this week in Riverhead, New York, missing most of its skin and showing advanced signs of decomposition. But officials also noted that the whale had giant bite marks on its body.

Wildlife officials said the bite marks likely came from something enormous in the sea.

The bite marks were “indicating that large sea animals, possibly a shark, had fed on the carcass post-mortem,” said Kim Durham of the Riverhead Foundation.

As Gothamist noted, the whale itself isn’t that unusual.

“Finback whales are not uncommon to the waters off New York. They are the second largest whales (after the blue whale), growing to about 75 feet in the Northern Hemisphere. NOAA says that there have been instances when finbacks have mated with blue whales, creating hybrids; also, ‘Fin whales are large, fast swimmers and the killer whale (Orcinus orca) is their only non-human predator.'”

The fin whale is also endangered, with only about 1,700 of the North American species remaining in the ocean. It is the ocean’s second largest whale, behind only the blue whale. Adults can grow anywhere from 40 to 80 tons and up to 80 feet long.

It’s also not the first time that a beached whale has shown up along Long Island. There have been a number of other giant marine mammals to show up near Smith Point County Park, including a whale that beached itself (and later died) in late 2012.

Often these whales are difficult to remove, as their giant carcasses begin to rot and smell, and can even explode due to the gasses that pool during decomposition. The Riverhead Foundation said it is working with county officials to dispose of the recent whale that showed up in Long Island.

[Image via Riverhead Foundation]

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