Washing up dead atop the beaches of Long Island's Hamptons beaches is very unlike the True's beaked whale. Known for their skittish behavior and preference for deep waters, the species is known for relatively little else because of those elusive characteristics, according the Office of Protected Resources.
But a second True's beaked whale was found dead on a Bridgehampton beach Sunday night; the first was found four hours earlier on a beach four miles away in South Hampton, Newsday reported.
The original whale, a female about 15.5 feet long and weighing over 2000 pounds, is currently undergoing a necropsy at the Riverhead Foundation for Marine Research and Wildlife to determine cause of death, according to Newsday. At only 9 feet and 400 pounds, the second one was a male calf. Its death is also being examined.
"This is a very unusual event," said Rob DiGiovanni, executive director of the Riverhead Foundation.
Unfortunately, when rare species surface on beaches great distances away from their natural habitats, most of them time they arrive dead, such as the saber tooth whale that turned up lifeless on Venice Beach in California.
So little is known about the whale that even dead, they're difficult to distinguish among species of beaked whales, according to the Office of Protected Resources.
From a glance, they resemble dolphins with their relatively small stature (for whales), white stomachs, and darker gray top half. Unlike dolphins, they travel in small groups, no more than 2-6 per pack. One hasn't surfaced in Long Island in years, according to Newsday.
