A dead humpback whale was washed ashore in Sea Isle City, New Jersey on Friday, Sept. 16. Officials at the Marine Mammal Stranding Center (MMSC) believe that the young male humpback's death was caused by human interaction.

The necropsy carried out on the next day revealed that the scarring on the whale's body was due to entanglement in a fishing line. According to Bob Schoelkopf, the founding director of the MMSC, the 33-foot long humpback whale had little food in its stomach and was probably unable to look for enough sustenance because of the injury.

Schoelkopf added that the whale was emaciated from the injury, and this resulted in the animal's death. It could also have been hit by a ship after its death and remained in the water for days before it was washed ashore.

Initially, Schoelkopf said before necropsy that there was no possibility that the whale could have been attacked by a shark or any other predator as there are no bite marks on the mammal's body. Earlier reports also said the 20-ton animal may have fallen ill or lost its mother before it died.

"Dead humpback at 20th Street. Crews on scene to remove it," tweeted Sea Isle City Police on Friday.

The humpback whale is one popular whale species commonly witnessed during whale watching. The mammal is well known for its act of breaching, rolling in the air above the water and outstretching its pectoral fins like wings. With its small dorsal fins, it crashes noisily back into water like an arch, distinguishing itself from other whale species.

Humpbacks are also known for their seasonal migration; they are in fact said to migrate farthest than any mammal. They spend most of their time feeding during the summer, which helps them accumulate fat for their survival during the winter.

The mammal has a unique foraging practice known as "bubble-netting." It releases bubbles at the depth to catch schools of fish and emerge at the surface of the water with an open mouth. At times it also does cooperative bubble-netting, where a number of humpback whales release bubbles and surfacing together.

The male humpback whales are also popular for singing complex songs that could last for about 20 minutes and could be heard from 20 miles away. They can grow up to 60 feet long and weigh 25 to 40 tons.

Photo: Joyce Cory | Flickr