31-foot whale washes up on North Carolina beach
HARKERS ISLAND, NC (WWAY) — A massive discovery was made late last month on a North Carolina beach.
On December 28, 2022, a dead 31-foot female humpback whale was found stranded on the ocean beach just south of the ferry landing on North Core Banks in Harkers Island.
A NC marine mammal stranding network team came out to the beach on December 29, 2022, to inspect the whale and do a stranding report for their files. These reports track the whale’s species and report on any necropsy results.
The team also assisted the park in collecting one of the whale’s front flippers and a 4-foot-long section of baleen from the whale’s mouth to be processed and eventually used in an exhibit at the Harkers Island Visitor Center.
