One of the dead whales found recently
© Ocean AerialsOne of the dead whales found recently
A team from the International Fund for Animal Welfare was on Monomoy on Wednesday investigating the death of two humpback whales.

A young humpback was reported to have washed up Tuesday on the beach on the Atlantic Ocean side of the Monomoy National Wildlife Refuge, said IFAW spokeswoman Melanie Mahoney.

The team went out Wednesday hoping to visually evaluate the whale or conduct a necropsy, an animal autopsy, depending on the condition of the body, Mahoney said.

"While out examining the stranded humpback whale, our team received a report of another stranded dead whale on Monomoy," Mahoney wrote in an email. "The team was able to hike out and assess the animal. It was found to be alive and in poor condition."

The second whale was euthanized and the team began an assessment of the 27-foot-long animal, according to Mahoney.

"Test results and cause of death are still pending and unknown at this time," she wrote.

Spotter pilot Wayne Davis captured an image of a humpback whale in shallow water near a group of seals off Monomoy last week, according to a post on the Atlantic White Shark Conservancy's Facebook.