Second right whale in 2 days found dead

BOSTON – Marine scientists spotted a dead North Atlantic right whale off the coast of Georgia on Wednesday, the second found off the eastern seaboard in 24 hours and the fourth in six weeks.

A New England Aquarium aerial survey team spotted the 40-foot dead whale on Wednesday morning about 15 miles east of Cumberland Island in Georgia, according to aquarium spokesman Tony LaCasse.

He said that the four deaths – which don’t include a fetus that died with its mother off Virginia last month – is the largest number of known deaths of the species in a short time period in the 25 years since scientists began tracking the population.

On Tuesday, the Coast Guard found a dead 45-foot-long female North Atlantic right whale 78 miles east of Nantucket. Crew members aboard the Coast Guard cutter Escanaba took a DNA sample and put a beacon on the carcass.