SAMISH ISLAND, Wash. — Wildlife officials in Bellingham say a fin whale found stranded on a beach on Samish Island died on Tuesday.
The whale was still alive when it was first found on Monday night, but it later died as responders were heading to the scene, according to a post from NOAA Fisheries West Coast.
The sub-adult male measured at about 61-feet long and weighed about 40 tons.
Crews will examine the carcass and then let it decompose naturally in the water.
Fin whales are the second largest animal earth, second to blue whales, according to NOAA.
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