A dead 58-foot finback whale washed up on the shore on a Long Island beach early yesterday morning.
It's still unclear how or when the whale died, but it went under forensic testing today. The results were not yet released.
"The animal is marked by pretty advanced decomposition, but seems to be intact," Kimberly Durham, of the Riverhead Foundation for Marine Research and Preservation, who is investigating the incident, tells CBS New York.
Her observation suggests the whale was likely dead for some time before washing ashore.
The biggest issue at hand now, according to Durham, is how to dispose of the massive mammal.
A dead leatherback turtle was also found washed up on the same beach two days prior and was buried on the beach, reports CBS New York. The two incidents don't appear to be related.
Other finback whales have been spotted frequently off eastern Long Island in the past several months, as Durham tells The Associated Press.
