Dead whale washed ashore at Pea Island National Wildlife Refuge

Kevin Cheek
·1 min read

PEA ISLAND, N.C. (WAVY) — A dead whale washed ashore at the Pea Island National Wildlife Refuge Tuesday, according to the U.S. Wildlife Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) in North Carolina.

Endangered North Atlantic right whale found dead off Virginia Beach coast

USFWS officials said the whale’s body has been anchored to the shore and biologist will perform a necropsy as soon as tide conditions allow.

This is just the latest in a series of dead whales found along the coast of Hampton Roads and the Outer Banks.

Two whales washed ashore in Virginia Beach in March and officials with NOAA told 10 On Your Side another four whales were found stranded along the Outer Banks between March 5 and March 9.

Two dead whales wash ashore in Virginia Beach

Anyone who sees an injured or stranded whale, dead or alive, should call the Greater Atlantic Marine Mammal Stranding Hotline at 866-755-6622 or the Southeast Marine Mammal Stranding Hotline at 877-942-5343. They ask anyone who encounters an injured or stranded whale to maintain at least a 500-yard (1,500-foot) distance away from it.

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