THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, April 3, 1996 TAG: 9604030395
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B5 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Brief
DATELINE: VIRGINIA BEACH LENGTH: Short : 27 lines
A juvenile humpback whale stranded on a sandbar off Chesapeake Beach Tuesday.
The Virginia Marine Science Museum stranding team is investigating the death of the 23-foot whale. A necropsy, or animal autopsy, will be conducted today after towing the whale to First Landing/Seashore State Park.
The animal appeared to be thin, but because it is in a few feet of water a complete examination was not possible Tuesday.
Stranding team members believe the young humpback got separated from its mother and could not survive on its own.
Humpback whales have been seen off the Virginia Beach coast during the winter over the last few years. They are protected by the Marine Mammal Protection Act and the Endangered Species Act.
KEYWORDS: BEACHED WHALE by CNB