Politics & Government

Necropsies Conducted on Two Whales Stranded on Sachuest Point

The two pilot whales were stranded around daybreak, later died and were buried in a protected area of dunes near Third Beach.

The remains of two pilot whales that beached themselves on Sachuest Point earlier in the day were buried on town-owned beach land near Third Beach Monday afternoon around 2:30 p.m., after marine biologists from Mystic Aquarium conducted necropsies.

A fully grown adult female and smaller male, approximately two years old, were discovered ashore on the east end of Second Beach near the Sachuest Point National Wildlife Refuge around 5:30 a.m. Monday morning.

A couple walking just around sunrise saw that the two whales had beached themselves and immediately called the Local authorities immediately notified the Mystic Aquarium in Connecticut, according to Bob McLeish, Supervisor for Middletown’s Parks and Recreation Department that manages the town beaches.

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“When we got there, they were still alive [around 6:30 a.m.] but the experts at the aquarium told us that we shouldn’t touch them because they can die instantly from the shock and trauma of that kind of contact from humans,” McLeish said.

The whales died a short time later on the beach and their bodies were transferred to the Sachuest Point National Wildlife Refuge where marine biologists performed necropsies on the marine mammals, according to McLeish. They were later transferred to a protected area of sand dunes on where Middletown's Department of Public Works (DPW) employees buried them deep beneath the sand in an elevated area at the instructions of Mystic Aquarium marine biologists on scene.

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“We had to make some decisions quick because it was starting to get light out at that time,” McLeish said of the actions taken in the morning to transfer the bodies off Second Beach.

The burial area near Third Beach is located within a protected and fenced off area as a safe haven for nesting piping plovers but experts from both the National Wildlife Refuge and Department of Environment Management (DEM) determined that no piping plovers were present in that area and that the area was suitable to bury the whales, McLeish said.

Mystic Aquarium Marine Biologist Janelle Schuh took part in the necropsies. She said at the scene of the burial that there were no obvious signs of trauma to either whale. During the necropsies, tissue samples were collected for laboratory testing to help determine the cause of death, she said.

Pilot whales are typical for southern New England waters, Schuh said. The aquarium responds to reports of beached pilot whales about every two or so years, she said.

Middletown Patch will continue to follow this story as it develops. Click on 'Keep me Posted' below to receive automated story updates.


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