Rare whale washes up at Island Beach State Park

For only the second time in over 38 years, a Blainville's Beaked Whale, has been discovered along the Jersey Coast, according to the Marine Mammal Stranding Center (MMSC) in Brigantine. 

The dead whale was discovered by duck hunters on New Years day in a marsh area behind Island Beach State Park, in Berkeley Township, the MMSC revealed in a post on its Facebook page.

MMSC staff, aided by members of the New Jersey State Marine Police and Island Beach Park personnel, towed the decomposing whale to an area in the park to collect date for The National Oceanic And Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).

The 15-foot-long male weighed nearly 800 pounds, according to the MMSC.

The center last responded to the death of a Blainville's beaked whale in 1989 in Marlboro Township.