Mystery skull washes up on New Jersey beach

OCEAN COUNTY, N.J. / CNN — A mystery washed ashore on a New Jersey beach on Monday.

A strange looking skull showed up on the sand at Island beach State Park in Ocean County.

The New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection shared the pictures on Twitter.

You never know what you are going to find on the beach after a storm! Our State Park Police found this skull at Island Beach State Park on Monday. As soon as we identify it, we'll let you know.

For now, do you have any guesses? pic.twitter.com/huuHiBl70z

— New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (@NewJerseyDEP) June 2, 2021

Some people took to Twitter and speculated the skull belonged to a pelican, a “very dead bird from like 1,500 years ago,” and even an octopus beak.

Officials later confirmed that the bones were the ventral (lower) jaw and skull of a Minke whale.

“You never know what you’re going to find on the beach after a storm” officials said.

The-CNN-Wire & © 2021 Cable News Network, Inc., a WarnerMedia Company. All rights reserved.

The post Mystery skull washes up on New Jersey beach appeared first on NBC2 News.

NBC2 (WBBH-TV)