Dead Whale Comes Ashore

A dead humpback whale washed up on the 28th Street beach in Ocean City Tuesday morning.

The mammal was about 25 feet long, authorities said.

Teams from the Marine Mammal Stranding Center in Brigantine were at the scene. They plan to try to determine the cause of death.

Center co-director Shelia Dean says it's not unusual for dead whales to float ashore this time of year. Last year three humpbacks washed up on the New Jersey shore, all in one month.

The whale probably died a week or two ago, most likely hit by a freighter ship between New York and the Jersey shore. "They'll feel a shudder. They don't know they hit something. They're a lot bigger than the whale."

Dean says there was a report of a dead whale about 60 feet long in the ocean off Brigantine this weekend.

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