BETHANY BEACH, Del.- A dead whale spotted off the coast of Bethany Beach has been identified as a juvenile male humpback whale, according to the MERR Institute.
MERR said it responded Thursday, Jan. 8, after the whale was first seen floating at sea about 2 miles off the Indian River Inlet two days earlier. The whale, estimated to be about 30 feet long, later beached near a private community close to Bethany Beach early Thursday afternoon.
The whale was seen in the ocean near Ocean Ridge before coming ashore.
According to MERR, the whale was extremely bloated. Crews are working to coordinate with the Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control to secure heavy equipment to move the whale out of the water and onto the beach so a postmortem necropsy can be conducted.
At this time, MERR said there is not enough information to determine the cause of death.