A Beaked Whale Beaches

A True’s beaked whale, rare to the area, was found dead on Scott Cameron Beach in Bridgehampton last Thursday afternoon. It appears the whale was sickly.

The Riverhead Foundation for Marine Research and Preservation received a call on its hotline at about 3:30 p.m. and sent a biologist and a volunteer to retrieve the carcass of the 10-foot whale on Friday. A necropsy of the male juvenile was conducted, and additional examinations were done on Saturday. Initial findings showed gastritis and parasites present, as well as respiratory congestion in both lung lobes, according to Rachel Bosworth, a spokeswoman for the Riverhead Foundation.

“There was no indication that the animal had been feeding prior to its death,” she said.

The whale’s lower right jaw was fractured, too. Tissue samples being sent to a pathologist will determine whether the injury occurred before or after the whale died. Results could take several weeks. There were markings on the body due to scavengers.

The whale, 10 feet long and weighing 1,071 pounds, died 24 to 48 hours before the Riverhead Foundation was notified, Ms. Bosworth said.

A radiograph of the skull indicated it was a True’s beaked whale, which prefer deep warm waters of the North Atlantic and can be found in the Southern Hemisphere, such as the Indian Ocean, according to the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration’s fisheries website.

“This species is rarely seen this close to shore, and they are generally found north of the New York area,” Ms. Bosworth said.

Two other whales of this type washed up dead in Southampton and Bridgehampton in 2014. Before that, reportedly only two others had washed up on Long Island in the past 30 years