STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- A dead whale was found at Midland Beach along Father Capodanno Boulevard on Friday morning.

Atlantic Marine Conservation Society (AMSEAS) received a call about the whale around 7:40 a.m. and sent a team to respond to the call.

The whale has been identified as a minke whale.

The whale has been barricaded off on the shore. (Photo courtesy Susan Somma)

Minke whales are currently ongoing an unusual mortality event. The elevated minke whale deaths have occurred along the coast from Maine through South Carolina, according to NOAA Fisheries.

According to preliminary examinations of beached minke whales, there has been evidence of human interaction or infectious disease. Samples are not consistent among all of the whales.

The state Department of Environmental Conservation and the city Parks Departments Staten Island borough office were on site in the morning and moved the whale out of the surf in preparation for the AMSEAS necropsy examination.

While the necropsy is ongoing, AMSEAS has dug a hole to bury the whale on the beach, according to an AMSEAS spokeswoman. She told the Advance that burial on the beach is the most natural way to dispose of large, deceased whales.

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Dead whale found on Midland Beach; carcass will be buried there - SILive.com