Body of Minke whale found washed ashore in Westhampton Beach

Marine biologists are investigating the death of a 24-foot long Minke whale whose body washed up in Westhampton Beach on Monday.

The decomposing whale first washed up Friday on a sandbar in Moriches Bay, according to the Atlantic Marine Conservation Society, which responds to rescues of whales, porpoises, dolphins and sea turtles off the Northeast coast.

The whale resurfaced Monday and washed ashore on Cupsogue Beach County Park. It was badly decomposed and the Atlantic society worked with the state Department of Environmental Conservation, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Fisheries, and Suffolk County parks to secure the whale for a necropsy Monday afternoon to determine a cause of death.

It is the eighth large whale the Atlantic marine society has responded to this year as part of the NOAA Fisheries Unusual Mortality Event, biologists said.

The whale appeared to be similar to other whales that have died in the region and may have suffered from a heart condition, according to biologists. It may have come from the same New York Bight region, which runs along the Atlantic coast from Cape May, New Jersey, to Montauk Point, where other Minke whales have been stranded and suffered from infectious disease.

The whale was buried on the beach Monday afternoon, officials said.

Officials with Atlantic society ask anyone who finds marine life in distress to call the New York marine mammal and sea turtle stranding hotline at 631-369-9829.

By John Asbury

john.asbury@newsday.comJohnAsbury

John Asbury is a breaking news and general assignment reporter. He has been with Newsday since 2014 and previously worked at The Press-Enterprise in Riverside, California.