BAR HARBOR — A male sperm whale has been towed to an offshore dock near the College of the Atlantic in Bar Harbor.
The seaside college says the whale, which is more than 40 feet long and 20 to 30 years old, was found dead and floating off of Schoodic Point by a local fisherman. Scientists believe the whale has been dead for about two weeks and drifted inshore with the currents.
A necropsy is being planned to see what killed the whale. Arrangements are being made to have the whale, which may weigh as much as 50 tons, brought to land to preserve the skeleton for study and eventual display at the college.
The sperm whale is the largest living toothed animal. Sightings of sperm whales in coastal waters are extremely rare.
Send questions/comments to the editors.
Success. Please wait for the page to reload. If the page does not reload within 5 seconds, please refresh the page.
Enter your email and password to access comments.
Hi, to comment on stories you must . This profile is in addition to your subscription and website login.
Already have a commenting profile? .
Invalid username/password.
Please check your email to confirm and complete your registration.
Only subscribers are eligible to post comments. Please subscribe or login first for digital access. Here’s why.
Use the form below to reset your password. When you've submitted your account email, we will send an email with a reset code.