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2003
April 1, 2003: Humpback Whale, ChathamOn 01 April 2003, CCSN staff received a call on the stranding hotline, from US Coast Guard Station Chatham reporting that a dead whale had been sighted on South Chatham point. CCSN staff verified the whale as a 40’ humpback. Thanks to the assistance of the Chatham Harbormaster staff the whale was secured and plans were set in motion for the necropsy. Because of the remoteness of the location and difficulty with local tides the necropsy was scheduled for 05 April 2003. The whale was accessible during low tide, so the 22-person team met at 5:00 a.m. to begin the necropsy. The team, headed by CCSN, was composed of staff from several organizations including the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, MassWildlife, and the Center for Coastal Studies. |
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 CCSN staff measured and secured the dead humpback whale on April 1st, 2003. The white underside of the left pectoral flipper is seen to the left of the whale. The throat grooves are visible and extend from the tip of the jaw down to the whale's navel. ©CCSN/L. Hogan |
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| The whale as first seen by staff on April 1st at low tide. ©CCSN/L. Hogan |
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| The necropsy team met early on the morning of April 5th to take advantage of low tide. ©CCSN/L. Hogan |
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| Several team members labor to pull the massive lower left jaw bone (mandible) up the beach to the waiting trucks. The entire skeleton was collected, and once cleaned, will be distributed to a museum or scientific collection. ©CCSN/L. Hogan |
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