Riverhead Foundation still trying to determine what killed whale

Biologists are still unclear on what killed a rare True's beaked whale that was discovered Friday on a Bridgehampton beach.

Officials from the Riverhead Foundation for Marine Research and Preservation have sent out tissue samples for testing to determine whether a jaw fracture occurred before or after death. A necropsy Friday and Saturday at the foundation's Riverhead center revealed stomach inflammation, parasites and respiratory congestion.

Scientists also said they do not believe the whale had been feeding.

The carcass was found Thursday afternoon on Scott Cameron Beach by a passerby who called the foundation's stranding hotline. Researchers suspect the sea mammal, which was damaged by animal scavenging, died 24 to 28 hours before they were notified.

A radiograph confirmed the male juvenile whale's species as a True's beaked whale, a rare find this far south, said Rachel Bosworth, a foundation spokeswoman.

The whales typically stick to the deep waters of the Northern Atlantic and little is known about their habits and population size, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Fisheries, as they are difficult to observe. Adults are believed to reach 151/2 to 171/2 feet long and weigh about 2,200 to 3,000 pounds.

The whale found last week, which was about 10 feet long and weighing 1,071 pounds, is the latest sighting of a whale on Long Island's East End. A dead mother and calf were found on beaches in Southampton and Bridgehampton in January 2014 and the carcass of another calf, believed to have died of starvation, washed up in Westhampton in June.

Those who find stranded animals should call the Riverhead Foundation's stranding hotline at 631-369-9829.