35-Foot Whale Washes Up On NY Beach Amid Rise In Beachings [Photos]

KEY POINTS

The humpback whale washed up overnight and was dead by the time crews arrived
A necropsy will be performed to determine the exact cause of death
Hempstead town supervisor said it's the first whale to wash up on Lido Beach in four years

A 35-foot-long humpback whale washed ashore on Lido Beach in New York's Nassau County. It was reportedly the tenth such case on Atlantic Ocean beaches in less than two months.

The adult male whale washed up overnight and was dead by the time crews arrived Monday morning.

"This is a sad day down on the South Shore, this is something you don't want to see," Hempstead Town Supervisor Don Clavin told News 12 Bronx.

Many local residents flocked to the beach to see the huge whale and pictures of the dead creature were shared on social media.

1/30/23….A humpback whale was found washed up at Lido Beach This morning. I was told that it will remain on the beach for two days while a necropsy will determine the cause of death.

"I'm astonished. It's enormous. It's so sad to see this kind of thing happen. I'm wondering how this happened," Long Beach resident Sarah Art told CBS New York.

A necropsy will be performed to determine the exact cause of death.

"It's majestic to see it but it's also a very sad day. It's a loss of a life, of a beautiful creature and hopefully, they can find out what the cause was because it's happening a little too often," Clavin told PIX11.

Clavin said it is the first time in four years that a whale has washed up on Lido Beach. However, it was reportedly the tenth whale to wash up on the shores of New York and New Jersey in two months. Most of those whales were spotted along the Jersey shore.

"How many whale deaths are going to be enough to trigger some sort of additional assessment?" Cindy Zipf of Clean Ocean Action, a nonprofit that works to protect waterways and marine environment, told CBS New York.

The recent deaths of these massive marine mammals have sparked worries about the impact of offshore wind projects.

The ocean-floor preparation work for these projects is going on in New York and New Jersey and some lawmakers want to bring the work to a halt. However, environmental groups in New Jersey said it was "unfounded and premature" to attribute the whale deaths to the offshore wind work, ABC7 reported.

"There is no scientific evidence suggesting a link between offshore wind and recent whale mortalities, and New York will continue our efforts to transition to clean energy and build a green economy," New York Gov. Kathy Hochul said.