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Federal authorities: Humpback whale that washed ashore on Long Island was tracked for 4 decades

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LIDO BEACH, N.Y. — Federal authorities are examining a humpback whale that was found dead on a beach in Nassau County, trying to determine how it died.

Since late last year, several whales have washed ashore in New York and New Jersey.

CBS2 has learned quite a bit more about the whale. Perhaps most interestingly, his name is Luna and the National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration had been tracking him for four decades. He is 41 feet long.

READ MOREEnvironmental groups search for answers in NJ whale deaths

Scientists were hard at work on Lido Beach on Tuesday morning taking samples for a closer look at the life and death of the majestic creature. Heavy equipment was digging in the dunes to create a final resting place.

Luna washed ashore Monday morning and created quite the spectacle on the sand as onlookers took pictures to memorialize the encounter. More shots got snapped Tuesday of what some are calling a once-in-a lifetime experience to see a whale this close.

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“I think it’s just tragic. It’s amazing to be able to see up front, but we’d love to know what’s causing this and, hopefully, it’s something that maybe we can understand and comprehend and prevent from continuing to happen,” said Rosie Angeles of Island Park.

Luna was the 10th whale to wash ashore in New York and New Jersey since December. Many questions surround the cause of the seemingly extraordinary number. Andrea Gomez with NOAA Fisheries spoke with CBS2 about Luna and the other recent whale deaths.

“Preliminarily it’s a male, he’s 41 feet long and he weighs about 29,000 pounds. His name is Luna. We know him from our stranding partners. The Center for Coastal Studies and Allied Whales have been keeping track of this whale. So, he was last sighted in September of 2022,” Gomez said. “We estimate that he’s about over four decades old. To put it in perspective, these humpbacks can live to 80 to 90 years old, so he’s about halfway through his lifetime.

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“At this time, we really have no idea what happened to him. As we continue to find out more we’ll definitely keep everyone updated,” Gomez added. “The leading causes of death would be vessel strikes and fishing gear entanglement, but we’re also still trying to determine what other possible causes of death it could be. It could also be natural causes.”

A necropsy result could take anywhere from a few hours to a few weeks to be conclusive, but there have been several cases in which no cause of death was determined.

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Source: CBS

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