Massive sea creature seen floating offshore washes up on NY beach, photo shows

A 40-foot sea creature washed up on a New York beach and now researchers want to know how it died.

On May 3, a whale watching ship called a conservation group to report a humpback whale’s carcass floating off the coast of Rockaways, according to a Facebook post by the Atlantic Marine Conservation Society.

The same whale had been seen floating 40 miles off the shoreline of Manasquan Inlet, New Jersey, the society said.

The conservation society is working with New York officials to “monitor” the whale, and perform a necropsy to reveal its cause of death, officials said.

Humpback whales reach maturity between 4 and 10 years old, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

Calves stay near their mom for up to a year before weaning, with the mother being “protective” and “swimming closely and often touching them with their flippers,” according to NOAA.

Conservationists urge the public to remember that dolphins, whales and porpoises are “protected by the Marine Mammal Protection Act, which makes touching, feeding, or otherwise harming these animals illegal,” the society said.

To report a stranded marine mammal call 631-369-9829, officials said.

Rockaway is about a 20-mile drive southeast from New York City.

This story was originally published May 5, 2025 at 2:10 PM with the headline "Massive sea creature seen floating offshore washes up on NY beach, photo shows."