Dead Whale Washes Ashore at End of LaGuardia Airport Runway

— -- New York City's LaGuardia Airport had an unexpected arrival Thursday afternoon: A dead whale.

The 15-foot minke whale washed ashore in Flushing Bay and was discovered on an embankment leading up to one of the runways, WABC-TV reported.

It is unclear how the whale died.

The minke whale typically weighs between 5 tons and 6 tons, which is smaller than a humpback whale.

The airport is consulting with the Riverhead Foundation for Marine Research and Preservation -- which wants to examine the whale -- to figure how to remove the mammal without disrupting LaGuardia's flight operations, according to WABC-TV.

"To actually have a whale at this location is a new location," said Kimberly Durham, a biologist and the conservation group's rescue program director. "It's certainly in proximity to Port Authority and operations that go there, there's a lot of things that have to be taken into consideration and we'll be working with the Port Authority to see what we can do regarding this carcass."