Weird News of Week: Big Mystery As Hundreds of Dead Crabs Hit Shores

As a local news organization, Patch covers stories of all kinds, from heartbreaking tragedies to inspiring tales of community brotherhood. But some stories are just plain weird. Here are some of the stranger headlines from the past seven days.

This week, hundreds of dead crabs washed up on a beach in Hampton Bays, and depending who you talk you, either Mother Nature or our own pesticides are to blame.

Some authorities are blaming warm waters and this year's early arrival of red tide, an algal bloom that's known to harm sea life. On the other hand, the local baykeeper is saying that this year's heavy pesticide spraying due to an active West Nile season is the likely culprit.

And then there's the smell.

Quogue police last week pulled an East Moriches man driving a car they said resembled the Batmobile. Unfortunately, the caped crusader was allegedly driving without a license ... and his tail light was out.

Authorities in Hampton Bays are trying to figure out how to get a decaying whale that washed up on the beach out of there, and so far it's not going too well.

On Saturday, the county attempted to move the whale, but the weight kept snapping the chains, according to Kim Durham, rescue program coordinator at the Riverhead Foundation for Marine Research & Preservation.

The dead animal, which experts think is either an endangered sei whale or a finback whale, a threatened species, was spotted off shore Friday. Though it could have continued to drift out to sea, the currents instead brought it ashore.

Attempts to remove the animal will continue, but let's hope they don't resort to blowing it up. (UPDATE: On Sunday, in a secluded spot near the beach.)