RYE, N.H., June 29 (UPI) -- Aquarium experts will begin an examination Wednesday of a 40-ton humpback whale, found dead on a Rye, N.H., beach, to determine its cause of death.

The adult female whale, 18, will be the subject of a necropsy by about 20 people from Boston's New England Aquarium.


"A lot of the internal tissue has actually deteriorated significantly. But we're really going to make a strong effort to see if we can get at least a glimpse as to what might have caused the demise of what is really a young adult female," commented aquarium spokesman Tony LaCasse.

The process is essentially an autopsy on the beach. It could take up to 10 hours. Officials warned that the public should be prepared for what they may see or smell.

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After the necropsy is completed, parts of the whale will be trucked away for disposal, before the holiday weekend.

The 45-foot-long whale washed ashore Monday, and has become a tourist attraction. Thousands of visitors have created traffic and parking problems in the small resort town, and police have written at least 100 parking tickets on Rye's Ocean Boulevard, which fronts the seashore.

"They're parking half in the roadway. They're parking in no-parking zones, and they're creating a hazardous condition by the way they're parking," Rye Police Chief Kevin Walsh said. Police said they would tow illegally parked cars beginning Wednesday.

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The whale is located below the ocean's high-tide mark, making it technically on state property. The cost of clearing the area after the necropsy has not been determined.

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