Thursday, 4:30 PM
Essex mulls what to do with 4,000-pound dead whale
(The Whale Center of New England)
The pilot whale died in a muddy marsh near the mouth of the Essex River.
By Emily A. Canal, Globe Correspondent
An aging pilot whale chose the Essex River on Cape Ann for its final swim, traveling up stream into a muddy coastal marsh, where it died of what appear to be natural causes. Now Essex town officials have a dilemma: What to do with the whale’s 4,000-pound body.
"Right now it doesn't pose a threat to anyone,” patrolman Robert Gilardi of the Essex Police Department said of the whale, which beached itself in an area only accessible by boat. "It found a good location to rest in peace."
That may change on Wednesday, when an especially high tide could move the creature's remains. If the whale is pushed closer to civilization, the town may have to figure out how to tow the whale away.
"It depends on how close it is to the public," Gilardi said, "and how bad it is going to smell."
The whale was found dead on Friday morning after it had been spotted the day before swimming off the coast of Essex. Pilot whales normally travel in pods or groups of 10 to 20 and are frequently spotted off the coast of Cape Cod.
"When you see a lone pilot whale they are usually under death sentence, suffering from either illness or old age," Tony LaCasse, a spokesman for the New England Aquarium, said today in a telephone interview.
Scientists took measurements and tissue samples from the whale and determined that it was of an advanced age because of the markings on its back. They were unable to perform a necropsy or pinpoint an exact age or gender because of the animal's position in the mud. Because of its age, officials determined that the whale likely died of natural causes.
"Town officials could leave the animal on site and let nature take its course," LaCasse said. "It is a remote area far enough from habitation and we are pretty confident that the terrestrial and aquatic animals would decompose of it quickly."
