4th whale washes up on the beach this week — this time in Nags Head

NAGS HEAD — A juvenile dwarf sperm whale washed up Friday afternoon on the beach near Jennette’s Pier.

The “very young” male was alive when it first washed up, but then died, according to Karen Clark, a community science specialist with the N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission and a partner in the OBX Marine Mammal Stranding Network.

This makes it the fourth dead whale found on the beaches of Hampton Roads and North Carolina’s Outer Banks this week.

The first was Sunday morning on the Virginia Beach Oceanfront near 25th Street, and the second was Monday morning at False Cape State Park, which is between Virginia Beach and the North Carolina state line.

The third, a dead minke whale, washed up Tuesday in Corolla.

Shortly after 5 p.m. Friday, the dwarf sperm whale was no longer on the beach. It was being transported to the University of North Carolina at Wilmington for a necropsy, according to Clark.

Her counterparts with the OBX Marine Mammal Stranding Network responded to the whale, and she received reports from them but did not have specific details.

It was unclear what caused the whale’s death.

Dwarf sperm whales are found in temperate and tropical seas worldwide, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

The species grows up to about 9 feet. They are the only whales to use the “squid tactic,” releasing a dark, reddish-brown liquid from an intestinal sac to create a cloud in the water if they feel threatened or to help escape predators, according to the NOAA website.

According to a WAVY report, North Carolina Aquarium officials pronounced the whale dead at 3:48 p.m.

The two humpback whale deaths in Virginia Beach continue a long-term trend of elevated mortalities since 2016, according to NOAA experts. Minke whale deaths have also been high in recent years for reasons that could include human interaction and infectious disease, but NOAA reported that more research is needed.