Enormous 12-foot whale jawbone washes up in Bethany Beach, MERR investigating

The Marine Education, Research and Rehabilitation Institute has custody of an almost 12-foot whale jawbone after it washed up in Bethany Beach.

Maura Rudder of Bethany Beach said she was taking a walk Jan. 10 when she spotted the large bone in the surf between Third and Fourth streets. She notified town officials, who likely contacted the institute.

MERR Director Suzanne Thurman said the bone is the lower jawbone of some species of baleen whale. She speculates it could be from a right whale and is attempting to contact the Smithsonian so it can be studied.

It's hard to determine the species from a single bone, Thurman said, but she suspects the whale was at least a sub-adult due to the bone's size.

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"We have a fin whale skull in front of our facility and it's larger than the lower jawbone from that animal," she said. "And that was a 55-foot, sub-adult fin whale."

Thurman also suspects the bone had been buried for some time due to its dark coloring, indicating deprivation of oxygen.

"It's quite possible the storm churned it up," she said. "We're intrigued by it and we're really eager to find out more."

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In 2021, a fin whale beached itself and later died in Cape Henlopen State Park in Lewes. It was found to have had significant parasitic infections and propeller injuries.

About 10 years ago, the tail section of a whale washed up in Bethany Beach, according to Thurman. It was about 10 feet long and likely from a minke whale, she said.

Shannon Marvel McNaught reports on Sussex County and beyond. Reach her at smcnaught@gannett.com or on Twitter @MarvelMcNaught.

This article originally appeared on Delaware News Journal: MERR investigating 12-foot whale bone that washed up in Bethany Beach