A dead humpback whale washed up on a beach in Stonington on Monday morning.
The 20-foot long female whale has been dead for some time, according to officials at Mystic Aquarium.
They estimate her weight as 7,000 to 10,000 pounds.
Aquarium crews responded on Monday morning after the whale was found near Lord’s Point.
Mike Osborn, director of mammals and birds at the Mystic Aquarium, said the aquarium hopes to move the animal to a different location to perform a necropsy and burial.
The whale was towed about 20 feet off shore so it will not be beached again when the tide goes out.
Osborn said the whale would be pulled out to deeper waters if the carcass is too decayed to determine the cause of death.
Local
Humpbacks are listed federally as an endangered species. Federal officials say the best estimate for its North Atlantic population is 11,570.
Marine animal strandings have increased steadily in recent years as populations of some species have grown under the protection of federal laws, according to Mystic.
The animal rescue program at Mystic asks that anyone who sees a stranded marine animal give the animal space, avoid touching it, keep your pets away and immediately call the aquarium's 24-hour Marine Mammal and Sea Turtle Stranding Program Hotline at 860-572-5955 ext.107.
