Residents near a US beach were advised not to interfere with a large skull fragment from a massive sea creature that recently washed up onshore. The ocean, which is largely unexplored and home to a variety of strange and sometimes frightening marine life, occasionally throws parts of these deep-sea dwellers onto our shores. This time, beachgoers at Hatteras Island, North Carolina, were presented with a significant piece of a skull, which authorities have warned should not be disturbed.

The skull fragment is thought to be from a humpback whale, and park officials from the US National Park’s Cape Hatteras shared a picture of it on their Facebook page, offering insights into the whale’s cranial structure. They pointed out that humpback whales have unique skull adaptations that support their feeding habits, such as a flexible skull, particularly around the jaw joints, which allows them to take in large volumes of water and prey. Their lower jaws are also not rigidly attached to their skulls.

Humpback whale skull fragment (E. Dlutkowski/ US National Park Service)

While the discovery may inspire visitors to take a piece of the skull as a memento, park officials have cautioned that removing parts of marine mammals from the beach is illegal under the Marine Mammal Protection Act. Instead, these remains are either used for scientific research or returned to the environment.

The article also notes that such finds are not uncommon in the area, which is a hotspot for marine mammal activity due to the convergence of the Gulf Stream and the Labrador Current near the coast. The park encourages people to appreciate the remnants of marine life that wash ashore but to refrain from attempting to take them home.