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Humpback Whale's Death At Cape Lookout Will Benefit Visitors

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By NPT Staff - January 13th, 2023

This humpback whale carcass was found washed ashore at Cape Lookout National Seashore late in December/NPS

How whales use baleen to filter their meals, and how truly big the flippers of humpback whales are, will be interpreted to future visitors to Cape Lookout National Seashore in North Carolina following the death of a female humpback whale at the seashore.

The body of the 31-foot-long whale was found December 28 just south of the ferry landing on North Core Banks.

"A North Carolina marine mammal stranding network team came out to the beach on December 29, 2022, to inspect the whale and do a stranding report for their files. These reports track the whale's species and report on any necropsy results," park staff said in a Facebook post. "The team also assisted the park in collecting one of the whale's front flippers and a 4-foot-long section of baleen from the whale's mouth to be processed and eventually used in an exhibit at the Harkers Island Visitor Center."

Cape Lookout biologist Karen Altman next to the whale flipper to provide a size comparison. The flipper is around 13 feet long/NPS

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