STEUBEN, Maine — A young fin whale was found stranded on the shore near Pigeon Hill Road in Steuben on Thursday.
Maine Marine Patrol responded around 9 a.m. to a report of the stranded whale, spokesperson Jeff Nichols told NEWS CENTER Maine in an email.
The agency notified Allied Whale, the marine mammal laboratory at College of the Atlantic that focuses on the identification and research of whales. Officials also contacted the National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration's Marine Mammal Health and Stranding Response Program, according to Nichols.
The whale was identified to be a young female fin whale about 49.5 feet in length, Allied Whale marine mammal stranding coordinator Rosie Seton told NEWS CENTER Maine in an email. The mammals are around 70 feet in length when fully grown, with females larger than males, which is typical for the breed, according to Seton.
The whale showed no obvious signs of trauma or entanglement but passed away around 11:30 a.m. Thursday, according to Nichols. Seton said the whale was emaciated and did not show any obvious injuries. Allied Whale had planned to conduct a necropsy on the whale in hopes of gaining more insight into the mammal's cause of death, but it has since floated back out to sea.
"If she lands on shore again and in an accessible location, we will work out logistics again for a necropsy," Seton said.
"We have not had a fin whale strand dead in over 20 years and never a live-stranded one to my knowledge," she added.