If you've been to Masonboro Island near Wilmington recently, you might've seen a strange (and smelly) sight. 

According to a post from mid-March on WBlivesurf.com, a website run by the Sweetwater Surf Shop that mostly reports on how good the waves are, the whale washed up on Masonboro last month "and is well along in the decomposition process."

Masonboro Island is an undeveloped, uninhabited and protected barrier island located between Wrightsville Beach and Pleasure Island. People often boat or paddle to the island to surf or camp. 

A photo posted Wednesday to the Facebook page of Wrightsville SUP (stand-up paddle boarding) showed a picture of a five-and-a-half foot surfboard next to the carcass that was about half the size of the whale's tail. 

Jarrod Covington is the owner of Wrightsville SUP, which does paddleboard rentals, lessons, tours and more. He travels to Masonboro often to surf and said he first saw the whale carcass, which is on the north end of Masonboro about 500 yards from the jetty near Wrightsville Beach, a couple of weeks ago. Last Friday, he took the picture he posted to Facebook.

The dead animal is about 20 yards from the water at low tide, Covington said, but it's probably at least partially in the water at high tide. 

"There are some good-sized bite marks" on the whale, he added, presumably from sharks. 

"It didn't smell as nearly as bad as you'd imagine" at first, Covington said, but the smell has gotten stronger as the weather has gotten warmer. 

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Large marine mammals that are wash up dead or become stranded fall under the oversight of the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), a federal agency within the U.S. Department of Commerce's National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, or NOAA. The NMFS has a Marine Mammal Health and Stranding Response Program.

The WBlivesurf.com post identified the dead animal as "a young humpback whale," and warned potential surfers that the decomposing mammal could attract sharks and other marine life looking for a meal. 

Allison Garrett, communications specialist with NOAA Fisheries and the U.S. Department of Commerce, said this particular case has already been reported. But people can always call the 1-877-WHALE-HELP hotline (877-942-5343) to report dead or injured marine mammals.

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It's not the first time a whale has washed up on the shores of a beach in New Hanover County. Back in 1928, a 54-foot, 50-ton sperm whale later named Trouble washed up on Wrightsville Beach. The beast's skeleton now hangs in the N.C. Museum of Natural Sciences in Raleigh. 

And while Trouble's jawbone went missing back in the day — one family told the StarNews in 2021 that it has what it thinks is one of the whale's teeth — it's important to note that, nowadays, marine mammals are federally protected by laws even after they're dead. Taking home any part of the whale on Masonboro as a souvenir would be illegal.

Contact John Staton at 910-343-2343 or John.Staton@StarNewsOnline.com.