MARSHFIELD, MASS. (WHDH) - A 27-foot-long minke whale was found dead Sunday morning in shallow water near Brant Rock in Marshfield, officials said.
A marine animal rescue team responding to an area about 30 miles south of Boston discovered the carcass pinned against a rock jetty and on its side, according to the New England Aquarium.
The adult female was thin but not emaciated, officials said. There was no visible gear from a possible entanglement, and there was no major trauma visible from a possible vessel strike.
The whale did have significant cuts and deep, long scratches on its underside and tailstock, which biologists believe to be the result of it thrashing about in shallow water when first seen on Saturday evening.
The whale was said to be already near death when it was first seen in shallow water and it exhibited a swimming pattern that is characteristic of whales when they are great in health distress, officials said.
Since January 2017, minke whales have been dying in unusually high numbers along the U.S. East Coast from Maine to the Carolinas, according to researchers. Minke whales are the smallest of the large whale species found in New England waters.
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