– SkyFOX was live over the scene in Sea Isle City, New Jersey, to remove a humpback whale that was beached. He estimates that the whale has been dead for several days.
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The Marine Mammal Stranding Center now is on the beach removing the animal with heavy equipment, the Press of Atlantic City reported. Police have taped off the area.
The mammal weighs about 20 tons.
The cause of death was not immediately clear but Schoelkopf said the whale may have been sick or its mother may have died.
Humpback whales occasionally are hit by boat propellers or get caught in fishing lines.
A necropsy will be performed on the beach Saturday morning to learn how it died. That could take up to eight hours.
Experts told CBS News that the whale was a male juvenile and appeared to be emaciated because of illness or a lack of food.
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The whale is described as 20 to 25 feet long, according to a report on CBS3.
