Whale washes up on Cove Neck beach

A whale washed up on a private beach in Cove Neck in the Town of Oyster Bay, state officials and conservationists reported Friday.

The 14-foot minke whale was discovered Friday morning on the North Shore beach and it was euthanized because, officials determined, it likely would not have survived on its own.

Officials with the Department of Environmental Conservation coordinated a response with Atlantic Marine Conservation Society, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Fisheries, Oyster Bay Constables, and Old Brookville Police Department, they said.

Rachel Bosworth, a spokeswoman for AMSEAS, the conservation society, said the stranded whale was in poor condition.

“The animal did have to be euthanized today,” she said, adding that it appeared to be underweight and that its species is common in Long Island waters. “It would not have survived in the wild.”

An examination on the whale is expected on Saturday.

DEC officials said that AMSEAS is the lead response group to whale strandings in New York and that it is part of a national network of marine mammal and sea turtle stranding response groups.

Bosworth urged the public to keep distance from marine mammals and sea turtles at all times, and report strandings to the NYS Stranding Hotline at 631-369-9829.