A female minke whale was found dead in New Bedford Harbor Sunday night

Kathryn Gallerani, Standard-Times
Updated ·1 min read
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A small minke whale spotted swimming near the hurricane barrier in New Bedford on Friday is believed to be the same whale that was found dead in New Bedford Harbor Sunday night.

The whale appears to have made its way into the harbor over the weekend and was found floating in the water Sunday.

Preliminary findings confirmed this to be a 22-foot female minke whale, according to information released by the NOAA Fisheries’ (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) Greater Atlantic Regional Fisheries Office.

New Bedford and Fairhaven officials look on as a whale which was found dead in New Bedford harbor is taken away after it was placed on a truck at Union Wharf in New Bedford.
New Bedford and Fairhaven officials look on as a whale which was found dead in New Bedford harbor is taken away after it was placed on a truck at Union Wharf in New Bedford.

Samples were collected per routine protocols and will be submitted to a diagnostic lab for pathological examination. Results, which help in determining a cause of death, may take weeks to months to complete.

With help from the New Bedford Police and Fairhaven Harbormaster Timothy Cox, the animal was secured Sunday night and was transported from Union Wharf in Fairhaven to Cape Cod for a necropsy, an animal autopsy, on Monday.

The International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) was notified of a deceased minke whale in New Bedford Harbor on Sunday. They believe this was the animal seen swimming in the area on June 30.

Fairhaven harbormaster Timothy Cox washes his hands after loading the small whale, which was found dead in New Bedford harbor onto the truck seen in the background, at Union Wharf in Fairhaven.
Fairhaven harbormaster Timothy Cox washes his hands after loading the small whale, which was found dead in New Bedford harbor onto the truck seen in the background, at Union Wharf in Fairhaven.

According to NOAA Fisheries, minke whales are members of the baleen whale family and are the smallest of the “great whales” or rorquals.

Minke whales in the United States are not endangered or threatened, but they are protected under the Marine Mammal Protection Act.

NOAA authorizes partner organizations through a formal agreement under Section 112(c) of the Marine Mammal Protection Act to respond to stranded marine mammals.

IFAW is the authorized stranding response organization that covers Cape Cod and southern Massachusetts.

To report distressed or deceased marine mammals on Cape Cod and south to the Rhode Island line, call IFAW at 508-743-9548.

Standard-Times staff writer Kathryn Gallerani can be reached at kgallerani@gannett.com. Follow her on Twitter: @kgallreporter.

This article originally appeared on Standard-Times: Animal autopsy to help determine New Bedford whale's cause of death