Whale carcass washes ashore in Plymouth

By Anne Baker, Globe Correspondent

The carcass of a 29-foot-long whale washed ashore on Manomet Beach in Plymouth overnight, a New England Aquarium spokesman said.

The juvenile humpback had been spotted floating in Cape Cod Bay last week, said Tony LaCasse. Experts are unsure what caused the whale’s death, but the carcass did not show signs of being hit by a boat's propellers or caught in fishing gear, two common killers of whales in this area, he said.

The gender of the animal is unclear, LaCasse said. This is the first large whale to wash ashore in New England this year, he said, but whale carcasses wash up intermittently and they can often come in clusters.

LaCasse said humpbacks are known for their spectacular breaches, in which they can propel about two-thirds of their bodies out of the water.

“They really are the acrobats of the whale world,” he said.

Biologists have finished examining the carcass, he said, and are now trying to decide what to do with it. Because of the time of year, LaCasse said, the animal could be left on the beach to decompose naturally, but it is ultimately up to the town of Plymouth to decide.

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