RYE, Maine — Crowds gathered Monday morning to witness a 45-foot humpback whale that washed onto rocks outside of Rye Harbor State Park and Foss Beach. Marine investigators quickly identified the whale as an 18-year-old female named Snow Plow.

The whale, which lay on its back, was guessed to have been dead for days before the tides pushed it to shore.

Fisherman had reported seeing the corpse floating 20 miles out at sea Sunday.

“A once in a lifetime experience!” said Rye resident Denise Levin after witnessing her first beached whale. Levin has been living in the area for almost 50 years and had never seen a whale so close.

Marine scientists responded to the scene and were working to determine the cause of death and scientists said a necropsy would be necessary to determine the cause definitively.

Jooke Robbins, senior scientist at the Center for Coastal Studies, said it would be unusual if Snow Plow had died of natural causes at her age.

Diane Schulte of the Blue Ocean Society was able to identify Snow Plow, who had been observed by scientists since she was a calf in 1998 in the southern Gulf of Maine.

Snow Plow’s mother, Fern, is still alive and was seen as recently as two days ago in the Gulf of Maine, Robbins said.

“There’s no obvious signs for reasons of why the animal is deceased,” said Rye Police Chief Kevin Walsh. State officials at the National Marine Fisheries Service have already determined that the cause of death was most likely not caused by a boat or entanglement in fishing line.

Mike Henry, a special agent for the National Marine Fisheries Service, said it will remain to be seen if a necropsy will be conducted.

See the full story at the Portsmouth Herald