Dead whale washed up on shore of Cape Ann

ROCKPORT, Mass. (AP) - A dead 50-foot finback whale first spotted floating in Boston Harbor more than two weeks ago has beached more than 30 miles to the north in Rockport, where town officials are trying to figure out what to do with it.

Under the law, the community where the dead sea mammal washes ashore is responsible for its disposal, which the state Department of Conservation and Recreation estimated at $30,000.

But the head of Rockport's public works department says because the area where the 50-ton whale beached on Saturday is rocky and hard to reach, the town may just let nature take its course.

Staff at the New England Aquarium confirmed that the whale in Rockport is the same one first spotted in Boston Harbor on Oct. 7.