Well-known whale named Lollipop found dead off coast of Maine. Experts seek answers

The saga of a creature that washed ashore Aug. 5 in Kennebunk, Maine, goes back years.

The massive humpback whale, now partially decomposed, had a name: Lollipop. Experts have been following her journey since 2018.

The 10-year-old female came on scientists’ radar when rescuers rushed to her aid amid a dangerous entanglement. She was freed and given a tag so scientists could track her movements.

On June 1 of this year, experts noted that Lollipop appeared to be in good health, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration wroteon Facebook. Then, a few weeks later in July, experts spotted Lollipop’s massive body floating — lifeless — off the coast of Massachusetts.

Not long after, the slowly decomposing body began to attract sharks and seagulls, hoping for an easy snack, Boston.com reported.

But humpbacks such as Lollipop are huge creatures, growing up to 60 feet in length and weighing up to 80,000 pounds, according to NOAA. It was a three-way race between scavengers, decay and sheer size.

In the Massachusetts waters, size won, and Lollipop continued to float northward.

On Aug. 2, her enormous carcass was spotted off the coast of Maine, Marine Mammals of Maine reported on Facebook.

Finally, on Aug. 5, her body washed ashore on Strawberry Island off the coast of Kennebunk, Maine, the Bangor Daily News reported.

Now that Lollipop is on land, experts plan to assess her cause of death. So far, they say that based on her tracking data, it doesn’t look like this was the result of another entanglement.

Lollipop’s mysterious death falls amid an uptick in whale deaths in the region. In the past two months, three whale carcasses have been found off the coast of Maine, according to the Bangor Daily News.

In June, McClatchy News wrote about one of the whales, this one named Chunk — also a well-known humpback among experts in the region.

These deaths are a part of what scientists have dubbed an unusual mortality event. Since 2016, experts have noticed an increase in humpback whale deaths in the Atlantic Ocean from Maine to Florida, according to NOAA.

A significant percentage of dead whales assessed showed signs of either entanglement or vessel strikes. However, more research is needed.

This story was originally published August 5, 2024 at 1:07 PM with the headline "Well-known whale named Lollipop found dead off coast of Maine. Experts seek answers."