Dead whale found along Belfast Harbor

A dead whale, estimated to be at least 15 feet long, washed up on the shore of Belfast Harbor in the last few days. The whale was first noticed by a guest of Belfast Harbor Inn sometime on Saturday, according to a worker there. As of 2 p.m. on Tuesday, the whale was still on the north shore of the harbor, behind the inn. Little other information was immediately available about the whale, including its species, or the time and cause of its death. The Belfast harbor master did not immediately respond to a request for information. A spokesperson for the Maine Department of Marine Resources said he had not yet heard of the dead whale in Belfast. At least four other dead whales have been found in or off Maine so far this year, including humpbacks found near Cape Elizabeth, Harpswell and Wells. A dead minke whale was also found in Harpswell in late August, according to News Center Maine. A worker at the Belfast Harbor Inn, who declined to give his name, said that the dead whale found in Belfast was also reported to the organization Allied Whale at College of the Atlantic. A representative for College of the Atlantic didn’t immediately respond.