Riverhead Foundation Still Seeking Answers Over Whale's Death

This story was written by Erica Jackson.

The cause of death of a 30 ton, 48-foot long, female humpback whale that washed up in East Quogue last week is still under investigation, according to the Riverhead Foundation, which performed a necropsy on Thursday. 

The whale, which was buried on the beach by Chesterfield Associates Inc., a company contracted by the Town of Southampton, was severely decomposed, according to Kim Durham, of the Foundation. 

With the help of students enrolled in marine mammal studies at Stony Brook University School of Marine and Atmospheric Sciences and the Mount Sinai School of Medicine, Durham said it was determined that the whale was in good body condition with a sufficient blubber layer of 10 cm. 

The examination, Durham said, also revealed extensive fractures to her cranium, which could mean that she might have been struck by a ship; however, Durham said, "Additional analysis of the fractures' patterns and skeletal remains are pending to determine if they are consistent with a ship-strike mortality."

Durham said the Foundation is continuing its research and will be sending images of the ventral surface of the whale's flukes (tail) to colleagues at the Provincetown Center of Coastal Studies to see if they can match the pattern within their humpback whale catalog. 

"Hopefully we can put a name to her and get some additional information on her life," said Durham.