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Dead Whale Washes Up On Beach

Young, Female Whale First Spotted Off Bay

POSTED: 11:57 am EDT September 23, 2008
UPDATED: 5:52 pm EDT September 23, 2008

A dead humpback whale washed up on a South Shore beach on Tuesday.

NewsCenter 5's Gail Huff reported that the endangered whale washed up on Manomet Beach.

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"It floated in around 6:30 a.m. We were having coffee, and we didn't know what it was. It just floated in. It is pretty amazing," witness Bill Driscoll said.

"I've never seen anything beached here before," another witness said.

The young, female whale was first spotted dead off Cape Cod Bay last week. At the time, scientists from Woods Hole took samples from the whale, according to Tony LaCasse, of the New England Aquarium.

"We don't know why it died. It's really important for us to be able to look at these animals because we do know that they die, often, from getting hit by vessels and getting caught in fishing gear," said whale biologist Regina Asmutis.

Officials are working to dispose of the whale. They plan to save the whale's skeleton for the state.

"It's very sad -- very, very sad. I've never seen anything like this before," another witness said.

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