Beachgoers make a disturbing discovery in Cape May, New Jersey

🐋 Whale washes up on South Jersey beach

🐋 The animal was euthanized

🐋 Strandings have decreased since 2023

People walking on a popular South Jersey beach Tuesday afternoon came across a beached whale.

Cape May Police received the call to respond to Sunset Beach around 3:30 p.m

A crew from the Marine Mammal Stranding Center responded shortly thereafter.

The whale appeared to be a juvenile minke whale, but MMSC officials could not confirm this. A video posted on Facebook shows that the whale was not much larger than the people standing next to it.

It is likely that the whale became stranded because it was sick.

The MMSC emergency services decided to euthanize the whale on the beach. An autopsy will be performed to determine the cause of death.

Sunset Beach is a popular year-round destination for its breathtaking views of Delaware Bay, breathtaking sunsets and the historic wreck of the SS Atlantus, a World War I concrete ship that ran aground just off the coast.

Strandings reduced for 2024

The number of whale and dolphin strandings has decreased compared to last year.

In 2023, 14 whales were found washed up on New Jersey beaches. To date, seven whales have stranded in New Jersey in 2024.

Dolphin strandings have also decreased slightly year-on-year. In 2023, 54 dolphins stranded on New Jersey beaches. In 2024, 51 dolphin strandings were recorded.

Many local officials and ocean advocates had blamed the development of offshore wind farms for the record number of whale strandings in 2023, but a clear scientific link has never been found.

It is worth noting that the number of stranded whales fell after wind developer Orsted stopped work on two wind farm projects off the Jersey coast.

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