--- description: It was about 58 feet long, and the cause of death is unknown title: Behold: The Giant Dead Whale That Washed Up on a New York Beach image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production --- * [Newsfeed](/tag/time-section-newsfeed/) ## Newsfeed Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Here's a Giant Dead Whale That Just Washed Up on a New York Beach by [Samantha Grossman](/author/samantha-grossman/) ## Samantha Grossman Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Oct 9, 2014 8:26 PM CUT by [Samantha Grossman](/author/samantha-grossman/) ## Samantha Grossman Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Oct 9, 2014 8:26 PM CUT On Thursday, things took a strange turn for early morning beach-goers at Smith Point County Park on Long Island, New York. A massive finback whale washed up dead on the beach, NBC New York [reports](http://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/Dead-Whale-Beached-Long-Island-New-York-Smith-Point-Park-Riverhead-278668961.html "undefined"). The Riverhead Foundation for Marine Research and Prevention estimates that the creature was around 58 feet long, and though it showed no visible signs of injury, it did show signs of advanced decomposition. That means it had probably been dead for some time before washing ashore. The foundation is now working with park officials to investigate — and to figure out how to get rid of it. One helluva whale beached at Smith Point Park in Suffolk County. WATCH [@NBCNewYork](https://twitter.com/NBCNewYork?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw "undefined") [pic.twitter.com/ezIr4yuoG6](http://t.co/ezIr4yuoG6 "undefined") — Keith Feldman (@NBCproducer) [October 9, 2014](https://twitter.com/NBCproducer/status/520238113453793282?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw "undefined") > [](https://twitter.com/CGShark/status/520293385274671104) > [](https://twitter.com/NBCNewYork/status/520273204636844035) > [](https://twitter.com/joeygomes13/status/520229595996782592) Clearly, this incident proves why you shouldn’t go to the beach when it’s obviously autumn. Just embrace the changing seasons — why not grab a pumpkin spice latte and head to an apple orchard instead? ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3486405/this-is-a-giant-dead-whale-that-washed-up-on-a-new-york-beach/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3486405/this-is-a-giant-dead-whale-that-washed-up-on-a-new-york-beach/"},"headline":"Here's a Giant Dead Whale That Just Washed Up on a New York Beach","datePublished":"2014-10-09T20:26:06.000Z","dateModified":"2026-04-13T07:13:42.251Z","description":"It was about 58 feet long, and the cause of death is unknown","url":"https://time.com/3486405/this-is-a-giant-dead-whale-that-washed-up-on-a-new-york-beach/","keywords":["Newsfeed","animals","New York","beach"],"thumbnailUrl":"","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Samantha Grossman","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/samantha-grossman/"}],"articleSection":"","image":[],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/tag/time-section-newsfeed/","name":"Newsfeed"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3486405/this-is-a-giant-dead-whale-that-washed-up-on-a-new-york-beach/","name":"Here's a Giant Dead Whale That Just Washed Up on a New York Beach"}}]}] ```