These photos are of a Necropsy - an autopsy of a Humpback Whale. They are not for the faint of heart.

Atlantic Marine Conservation Society (AMCS) was down today doing the necropsy on the beached humpback whale in East Atlantic Beach - West Long Beach area. All hands on deck for this one- the more hands the faster it will go and that’s really good news for these AMCS workers! This whale looked to be in good shape but it's been a while since it was alive, and the smell is overwhelming to say the least!

NYS DEC was there to keep the peace (no problems had) and TOH workers were there to bury the whale’s carcass after AMCS is done with the Necropsy. The TOH DPW dug a very deep hole in the sand and when AMCS is done doing its research on the whale carcass gets buried in that deep hole on the beach.

Tons of onlookers are coming and going, News12 and all the NYC News stations were on the sidelines broadcasting from the scene.

There really is not much to say except AMCS started the necropsy, they are taking many samples and photos. All the samples get evaluated in many different ways to determine many things, but one is what we all want and need to know…How did this sub-adult female humpback whale die? Was it a ship strike? An entanglement? Did it digest plastic? Or was it natural causes? In 2-7 months we might just find out!

I love taking photos of healthy, live humpback whales doing their acrobatic moves here in the waters of LI and NYC, aka the Western NY Bight. You can follow me to see these photos on facebook, Instagram and twitter

If you didn't know I also am the Photographer and Photo Curator of the NYC Humpback Whale Catalog for Gotham Whale and you can follow them here.

Email [email protected] for photo and blog usage.

Email [email protected] for photo and blog usage.