35-foot humpback whale washes ashore on Long Island beach 

A massive 35-foot-long  humpback whale washed ashore on a Long Island beach early on Monday morning, authorities said.

The whale was found at Lido Beach West Town Park in Hempstead at around 6:30 a.m., Nassau County police said. 

However, by the time crews arrived, the whale was declared dead, according to Hempstead Town Supervisor Don Clavin. The crews moved the whale further up the shore to higher ground because of the high tide, he added. 

“It’s 35 feet long. Just pulling it up on the shore, we had to bring in a heavy crane. And the wires were snapping because of the tonnage it was required to really bring it to higher ground.”

“You don’t see something like this in your lifetime, I understand that — but it’s also a really sad day here,” Clavin said. “This whale died, and unfortunately you’re going to have people coming here to take a look at it.”

While it is not uncommon for whales to wash up on shore, Monday’s whale is the eighth whale that has been found in about a month, Calvin added. Last year, 19 humpback whales were stranded along the U.S. Atlantic coast. 

“This is by far the largest,” he added. “The crews that have been here for almost two decades have never seen a whale this size.”

Federal authorities and marine biologists are expected to perform a necropsy on the massive animal on Tuesday to determine what caused its death. The animal, however, showed no signs of trauma. 

 Once the necropsy is completed, the animal will be buried along the beach.