SANDWICH – It was both sad and amazing. A 37-year-old female humpback whale named, “Vector,” that had washed ashore on East Sandwich Beach on Monday was towed away on Tuesday for a future necropsy and then to a final undisclosed burial place.
Sharion Boutilier, a volunteer with the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW), said the whale had been spotted floating in Cape Cod Bay on Saturday and washed ashore on East Sandwich Beach on Monday. Vector was known by the distinctive markings on her tail, said Boutilier.
Even though the whale washed ashore, she said IFAW still considers it a stranding.
In early afternoon on Tuesday in front of a large audience and even TV cameras, volunteers fixed a rope to the whale’s tail and then a boat towed Vector away for a necropsy and to “be respectfully buried,” said Boutilier.
The whale, which was belly up in the shallow water, was about 45 feet long and weighed about 40 tons, she said.
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