A young male humpback whale calf was discovered dead drifting near Sandy Beach in Gastineau Channel and towed by U.S. Coast Guard and NOAA officials to undergo a necropsy.

A dead humpback whale has washed ashore on North Carolina’s Outer Banks. The Charlotte Observer reported Thursday that the 18-foot whale was found on Pea Island about half-mile north of Rodanthe.

A whale carcass washed ashore just outside the settlement of Vogar on the Vatnsleysuströnd coast this afternoon. A marine biologist suggests that altered fish migration patterns, a consequence of climate change, are likely responsible for the higher number of strandings observed.

Dozens of pilot whales were stranded in Ólafsfjörður on June 21, but ICE-SAR teams managed to refloat them and guide them safely back to open water.

There are currently fewer minke whales and more humpbacks in Icelandic waters than usual for the time of year, and some appear to be skipping the southward migration altogether.