Megaptera novaeangliae (humpback whale) - CCSN-07-181

Abstract

Megaptera novaeangliae (humpback whale) - CCSN-07-181 - female - 9.85 m - Pelvic location - Seacoast Science Center. The fresh carcass of a 32.3-foot (985 cm), 2-year-old female named “Tofu” was found floating about 4 miles off Race Point, Provincetown, Barnstable County, MA on the mourning of 24 June. It was towed to a marina in Dennis and trucked to the Bourne landfill where it was necropsied on 26 June. The carcass weighed about 10 tons. It was found to have a large bruised area from the ventral side of the head of its right humerus and upper chest, down to its upper belly, caused by a vessel strike. No bones were broken. It took 5.5 hours to conduct the necropsy and to remove the entire skeleton. The whole right rack of baleen and the anterior 2/3 of the left rack were removed and preserved in one piece, each. The posterior 1/3 of the left rack was taken by the Cape Cod Stranding Network to be used for education. The skeleton was donated to the Seacoast Science Center, Rye, NH