Off the coast of the Hamptons, a great white shark has been spotted near the carcass of a 45-foot humpback whale — the 37th dead whale to wash up the East Coast in recent months.
The deceased whale was found about five miles south of Wainscott, Long Island, Wednesday morning by local researchers, who notified the National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Fisheries.
The whale drifted west into Shinnecock Inlet, adjacent to Hampton Bays and South Hampton before being towed. The whale was so huge that it took two boats to be transported.
Andrea Gomez, a NOAA spokesperson, told DailyMail.com that an autopsy on the whale will be performed Friday by the Atlantic Marine Conservation Society, the local marine mammal conservation agency, and the organization’s New York beaching partner.
She said preliminary findings on the NOA social media page once the team completes the investigation of the whale to determine the cause of death.
The deceased whale was found floating about five miles south of Wainscott, Long Island, on Wednesday morning by local researchers, who notified the National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Fisheries
The humpback whale, a type of baleen whale, can weigh between 55,000 and 66,000 pounds. They have a distinct body shape, with long pectoral fins and tubercles on their heads
The shark was about 115 feet away from the dead whale, and in close proximity to the million-dollar homes that are located near the beach in South Hampton
The shark was about 114 feet away from the dead whale and in close proximity to the multimillion-dollar homes in the exclusive South Hampton area, which features some of the most luxurious beachfront estates.
“It was a male humpback whale 14 meters long — larger than we initially estimated,” Rob DiGiovanni, executive director and chief scientist for the Atlantic Marine Conservation Society, told DailyMail.com.
He said samples had been collected and shipped on the whale.
“NOAA Fisheries stated an unusual death rate that has been going on for the past six or seven years and that’s what we’re seeing now,” he said.
DiGiovanni cited a number of different reasons, but listed ship strikes and entanglements as the leading causes of death for the humpback and North Atlantic right whales.
Infectious diseases are the contributing factor for the minke whale.
Between January 1, 2023 and June, a total of 37 large whales stranded along the US Atlantic coast, according to NOAA.
NOAA Fisheries considers all baleen whales plus sperm whales to be large whales.
The humpback whale, a type of baleen whale, can weigh between 55,000 and 66,000 pounds. They have a Tuemuscular body shape, with long pectoral fins and tubercles on its head.
It’s unclear how long the whale had been floating in the water and whether the great white shark feasted on the mammal.
But images and videos show the whale’s mutilated carcass, suggesting a feeding frenzy may have taken place that could explain why the shark was spotted in the first place.
Twenty-three humpback whales have been found between Massachusetts and Virginia; two sperm whales in Florida and off the coast of North Carolina; two North Atlantic right whales in North Carolina and Virginia.
In addition, one sei whale in North Carolina, eight minke whales between Maine and New York and one fin whale in Virginia, according to NOAA.
A close-up of the humpback whale that appears to have been maimed by a feeding frenzy that appears to have been perpetrated by a large number of sharks
Another angle of the 14m humpback whale found along the coast in the Shinnecock Inlet bordering South Hampton and the Hampton Bays. Rob DiGiovanni, executive director and chief scientist of the Atlantic Marine Conservation Society told DailyMail.com, NOAA Fisheries stated an unusual death rate that has been going on for the past six or seven years and that’s what we’re seeing now’
The dead whale is drained from the Shinnecock Inlet. The whale is so huge that it took two boats to help
The two boats in the waters of Shinnecock Inlet on their way to the humpback whale discovered this week by local researchers. The photo shows an aerial view of the location, captured by drone imagery. There have been 37 deaths along the east coast
A photo of the dead whale floating in the waters along the Hamptons coastline
An image of the great white shark spotted near the humpback whale that died Wednesday was found near the waters off Wainscott
As of 2016, NOAA Fisheries has been investigating three simultaneous unusual mortality events (UME) for large right whales in the North Atlantic. Data from those studies can be found at their website.
The organization also held a press briefing on recent East Coast whale strandings of humpback and other whales along the East Coast, including New York and New Jersey.
NOAA’s marine mammal experts provided the latest information on the strandings, ongoing unusual deaths and their next steps.
Experts from the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management were also on hand to discuss offshore wind energy as a possible contributing factor.
“We have no evidence linking the whale deaths to wind farm deaths,” DiGiovanni said.