Turtle Journal

Sue Wieber Nourse with 40-Foot Finback Whale

First spotted in Wellfleet Harbor on Wednesday, a 40-foot finback whale stranded six miles down the shore at Dyer Prince Beach off Boat Meadow Creek in Eastham, Massachusetts.  Ocean effect snow had dropped six to eight inches on the Outer Cape Wednesday night and rescuers discoverd this marine mammal early Thursday morning already trapped in ice and snow.  It quickly succumbed to these impossible conditions.

40-Foot Finback Whale (Balaenoptera physalus)

While we mourn the whale’s passing, these Arctic conditions offered a rare opportunity for scientists and marine educators.  Rescuers would normally remove the carcass immediately from the beach or perform a detailed  necropsy in situ, depending on circumstances, to get a jump on decomposition.  In this case, conditions were simply too harsh, too difficult to operate in the ice … yet the ice also preserved the animal by slowing the process of decomposition.

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Physical Survey of Stranded Finback Whale

We rarely have a chance to see an intact whale of this size in such pristine condition.  Even a cursory examination of the finback helps to reverse our preconceptions of whales.  Our brains have created a whale image as a huge, bulky, cumbersome animal, somewhat akin to an elephant with fins rather than feet.

Finback Whale: Greyhound of the Sea

To the contrary, finbacks show how sleek, swift and powerful whales can be.  The finback is the second largest whale, behind only the blue whale — the largest animal ever to grace Planet Earth, yet finbacks proudly carry the moniker of greyhounds of the sea.  Finbacks, also called fin whales, are considered an endangered species.

Finback Whale Baleen

Like other such great marine mammals, giant finbacks feed on the smallest critters … just lots and lots of them.  A toothless or baleen whale, finbacks filter ocean to sift for their prey.

NOTE:  You may have noticed in the video clip that the finback’s tail had nearly been severed.  Vandals had attacked the carcass sometime after rescuers had left on Friday and early Saturday morning, apparently attempting to remove the tail.  While they didn’t succeed in this attempt, they did manage to make things more difficult for scientists who had hoped to remove the animal after the ice melts by towing it to an appropriate location to conduct a necropsy.  Typically, towing such a large carcass entails tying a line around the tail.  Authorities are pursuing leads to identify and apprehend the vandals.

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Town of Wellfleet Rescue Team on Lieutenant Island

After documenting the finback in Eastham, the Turtle Journal team drove to Lieutenant Island in Wellfleet to inspect how our research sites were weathering this harsh winter.  Looking over Lieutenant Island from Old Wharf heights, we had spotted a number of shellfishermen and aquaculturists working the tidal flats between enormous icebergs.  Apparently, someone had called in a report that one of these folks might be in distress, because as we tried to leave Turtle Point, our path was blocked by several police cruisers, fire trucks and other sundry emergency vehicles.  Our hats are off to the Wellfleet rescue team.  They take very seriously any potential threat to life in Arctic-like conditions on the Outer Cape.

Humpback Whale off Cape Cod, Massachusetts

The unfortunate loss of a finback whale on Dyer Prince Beach, Eastham in Cape Cod Bay (see Finback Whale Strands on Outer Cape Beach) prompted Turtle Journal to look back at our summer visits to Stellwagen Bank off Cape Cod to spend time with finback, minke and humpback whales.  Okay, we’ll admit it.  The fact that the morning dawned with zero (0) degree temperature … No, not zero wind chill, but zero period … strongly hinted that a virtual return to warm conditions would be in order.  So, we thought it might be temporarily palliative to take a look back at the whales of summer.

Humpback Whale Prepares to Dive on Stellwagen Bank

Provincetown hosts several fleets of whale watch boats with highly skilled captains and well trained naturalists to provide eager visitors with a memorable experience without undue interference with the whales.  On the mainland, Plymouth Harbor hosts similarly well qualified boats and crews.  Both fleets head for Stellwagen Bank which offers safety and plentiful food for several species of whales, including right whales, finbacks. minkes and humpbacks, as well as dolphins and pilot whales.

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Pair of Finback Whales off Provincetown, Cape Cod

As sleek and swift as thoroughbreds, finback whales grace Stellwagen Bank off the northern tip of Cape Cod.  Unlike powerful humpbacks, they can perform a deep dive with merely an arched back rather than the full fluke show.  The whale that was spotted in Wellfleet Harbor on Wednesday, initially identified as a minke and guided out to the bay by the harbormaster boat was likely the same finback whale that was discovered beached in Eastham on Thursday morning.

Humpback Whale Feeding on Stellwagen Bank off Cape Cod

Humpback whales are especially attracted to Stellwagen Bank for summer feeding.  These magnificent marine mammals hunt in groups as they encircle their prey in bubble nets and then dash to the surface with mouths agape.

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Humpback Whales Feeding on Stellwagen Bank off Cape Cod

There are few natural experiences as exciting as watching some of the planet’s largest, brainiest animals hunting prey a few feet from your lens.  And there are few places on this globe as exquisitely beautiful as Cape Cod Bay on a sunny August day.  As a humpback raises it fluke on a dive to the bottom of Stellwagen Bank, we head back to port in Provincetown.

Humpback Whale Fluke

Cape Cod Today reports, “Whale stranded on Eastham beach dies“

02/05/09 · 1:06 pm :: posted by editor

Finback Whale Strands on Eastham Beach by David Curran

EASTHAM – Members of the International Fund for Animal Welfare’s (IFAW) marine mammal rescue team examined a dead 40-foot male finback whale on the ice at Dyer Prince Beach in Eastham.  When first discovered Thursday morning, the whale was alive. 

Finback whales are long and streamlined and second only to the blue whale in size and weight. Their sleek build enables them to swim up to 23 mph.  Adult males can grow up to 80 feet and weigh up to 70 tons.  Like other baleen whales, finbacks feed on krill and small fish.  They are most commonly seen along the coast of New England from March to November.

It has been a busy past few days for the team.  Four dolphins stranded themselves in Eastham Wednesday and were released by CCSN in Provincetown that afternoon.  Also on Wednesday, a minke whale was spotted in Wellfleet Harbor.  The harbormaster was able to direct it back out to sea before CCSN arrived.

The Cape Cod Stranding Network, an IFAW project, maintains a 24-hour stranding hotline. To report a dolphin, whale or seal in distress, call 508-743-9548.  The network offers tips for those who encounter such an animal.

Finback Whale Strands in Eastham on Outer Cape

Photo by David Curran

Caution:  A more graphically disturbing video of the stranded whale was captured by the Cape Cod Times video team below.  Viewer discretion is advised.

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Finback Whale Discovered on Dyer Prince Beach in Eastham

Video by Cape Cod Times

Four dolphins stranded in Wellfleet, released in Provinctown 02/04/09 · 3:23 pm :: posted by editor

Cape Cod Stranding Network rescues four stranded dolphins on the Outer Cape

(See Turtle Journal Yesterday: Dolphins Take Refuge from Powerful Nor’easter in Protected Wellfleet Harbor)

PROVINCETOWN – Around 2 p.m. on Wednesday, members of the Cape Cod Stranding Network (CCSN) released four dolphins back into the ocean at Herring Cove Beach in Provincetown.

The dolphins had stranded earlier in the day in Wellfleet, the same town where a Minke whale was spotted swimming through the harbor.

One of the dolphins was discovered in Duck Creek, while the other three were found stranded at Chipman’s Cove.

Above, Katie Touhey of CCSN checks on one of the dolphins prior to its release.

The Cape Cod Stranding Network, an IFAW project, maintains a 24-hour stranding hotline. To report a dolphin, whale or seal in distress, call 508-743-9548.  The network offers tips for those who encounter such an animal.

Photo by David G. Curran.