By Mike Busch
Unfortunately a dead Minke Whale washed up on the beach today on Fort Tilden, part of the Gateway National Recreation Area just outside of New York Harbor.
According to Catherine Granton, Assistant Director of Education for Gotham Whale, this was a juvenile, approximately 19 feet long. Adult Minke are one of the smallest baleen whales with adults around 30 feet long and weighing 10 tons.
Read more about Minke Whales on the CRESLI website here.
Besides Catherine, the New York State DEC, the National Park Service, and Captain Tom Paladino of American Princess Cruises were on the scene late this afternoon.
The Atlantic Marine Conservation Society will perform a necropsy tomorrow to try to find out what happened.
The photos below were taken by Catherine Granton.