Westport Reports First Beached Whale of the Year

A Westport beach was the landing site of a deceased humpback whale on the first of the year and here is what we know so far.

We had some unseasonably nice weather leading up to the new year, so imagine taking a stroll along the beach and coming across a 34-foot deceased male humpback whale.

We spoke with Andrea Gomez, PhD., the Communications Specialist and Public Affairs Officer for National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration gave us a timeline of when the whale washed up.

"We were alerted of this deceased humpback whale on December 31. The whale landed in the surf in Westport, MA on January 1," she confirmed.

NOAA and the International Fund for Animal Welfare have already begun making sure the deceased whale was removed safely.

IFAW will remove the whale from the beach today and has already visited the site to acquire skin and blubber samples to further investigate what might have happened to this humpback.

Removal of such a massive mammal is not easy and if not done properly can pose safety concerns for other animals and humans, so this removal is a coordinated effort.

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Over the last decade, Massachusetts has seen the most Humpback Whale UME, or Unusual Mortality Events, than another other state on the East Coast with almost 50 such events since they started keeping track in 2016.

When we get more information on what exactly happen to this whale, which could take weeks to months for lab results to come back, we will update you.