Whale death toll rises as 11-ton sperm whale carcass is stranded on Cuttyhunk Island

Marine scientists are investigating yet another whale death after the carcass of a sperm whale washed up on Cuttyhunk Island over the weekend, one of at least a half dozen to wash ashore in Massachusetts over the last two months.

Members of the International Fund for Animal Welfare Cape Cod team responded to the outermost of the Elizabeth Islands after the whale carcass was reported to them on Sunday morning.

IFAW spokesperson Stacey Hedman on Monday said three IFAW responders went to the island during the afternoon, and left around 5 p.m. They were only able to perform a limited external exam, she said, "due to the location of the stranding and the conditions on the beach."

There were "no obvious external wounds present" on the whale, a 32-foot female weighing in at an estimated 22,000 pounds, or 11 tons.

"We have anchored, and satellite tagged the whale carcass, and full necropsy (animal autopsy) plans are pending," Hedman said.

Since early December, a number of whales, mostly humpbacks, have washed ashore in Massachusetts, including in Plymouth, Brewster and Marshfield in December, and in Westport on Jan. 1. A minke whale stranded in Charlestown, Rhode Island, in late December, and at least five other fatal whale strandings have been reported elsewhere along the East Coast.

Sperm whale strandings are more rare, but have been documented. Lauren Brandkamp, stranding coordinator at Whale & Dolphin Conservation in Plymouth, said sperm whales — the largest of the toothed whales, which are listed as endangered by both the state and federal governments — "typically stay in deep water environments, unlike other large whale species that use shallower coastal waters to feed."

"So, while it is less common, there are records of sperm whales stranding in Massachusetts, including one which stranded in Duxbury in 2023," she said.

WDC conducted a necropsy on that whale, a 17.5-foot juvenile male, she said, "and found it had a significant amount of debris in his stomach."

In December 1997, a 47-foot male sperm whale stranded on Nantucket's Low Beach, according to the state Division of Fisheries & Wildlife. A second 46-foot male stranded on the island in June 2002.

Brandkamp noted that WDC sent crews to six large whale strandings last year within its response area that spans from Weymouth to Plymouth — three minke whales and three humpbacks. The effort, she said, "has been emotionally and physically exhausting for our team."

"Both minke and humpback whales have been undergoing an Unusual Mortality Event for over seven years, which means that there has been a significant die-off in these species," she said.

Debate surrounding the recent spate of whale deaths ramped up earlier this month after President Donald Trump linked the fatalities to offshore wind development. Scientists and environmental organizations emphasize that there is no current evidence linking wind farms to whale deaths, while some activists continue to have ongoing concerns about offshore wind's impact on marine life and applaud Trump's call for pausing new developments.

Scientists have performed necropsies on many of the deceased whales. Results can take three months or more to complete.

"All of the stranding response organizations in Massachusetts are dedicated to understanding why these animals are stranding," Brandkamp said, "and we have unfortunately found that a number of these deaths are caused by infectious disease, accidental entanglement, and vessel strike."

WDC is not part of the investigation of the Cuttyhunk stranding, which is territory covered by IFAW. The organizations do their work under federal permit from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.