Beached Minke whale euthanized on Cape Cod

WELLFLEET, Mass. — Another minke whale has died after beaching in Massachusetts.

The whale stranded in Wellfleet on Saturday.

A marine mammal rescue and research team at the International Fund for Animal Welfare responded to the scene and performed a health assessment. The whale was found in be in such poor health that it was euthanized.

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A necropsy to determine the cause of death was planned for Monday.

Minke whales are in the midst what the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration call an "exceptional die-off" in New England. About two dozen of the marine mammals have died in the region this year. The deaths remain under investigation.

Minkes are the smallest of the baleen whales.

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Associated Press