A juvenile female humpback whale washed ashore Friday, the Kitty Hawk Police Department said in a social media post.
The whale was found near the Bennett Street Beach Access.
The Virginia Aquarium has been contacted for assistance.
Marina Doshkov, the Marine Mammal Stranding Coordinator, said a necropsy will be performed on Saturday morning. Following the necropsy, the whale will be buried at the beach.
The National Park Service is trying to determine what caused the death of a humpback whale that washed up in the surf Monday on Hatteras Island.
The 30-foot whale was found 2 miles south of off-road vehicle ramp 38.
Necropsies are conducted on all marine mammals stranded at Cape Hatteras National Seashore to help determine the cause of death, said National Park Service spokesman Mike Barber.
Humpback whales migrate to the Caribbean in the winter, where they breed and give birth, then head back toward New England for the spring and summer to feed.
That means migrating humpbacks are swimming past this time of year, with many juvenile whales hanging around the Mid-Atlantic to feed rather than head south for romance.
But more whales in the water means more risk of harmful human interactions.
Past findings by the Outer Banks Marine Mammal Stranding Network, a team of state and federal experts who investigate strandings, have led to seasonal management with NOAA Fisheries to reduce ship strikes with speed restrictions in known migration paths.
The reasons for marine mammal strandings vary, from disease to parasites to injuries and weather events, the network says on its website. Many times, a cause is never identified.
In the past 10 years, there have been 14 documented humpback whale strandings at Cape Hatteras National Seashore, including four in 2017. There have been 27 documented since 2008, Barber said.
