Officials at the Marine Mammal Stranding Center in New Jersey said the whale that died after a boat accident on Saturday in Barnegat Bay was thin and found to have blood in the lungs.
The center released the results of the necropsy (animal autopsy) on Monday, which found the minke whale to be an adult female measuring at 26 feet, 4 inches in length.
“Preliminary necropsy findings indicate that the whale was in overall thin body condition. Superficial cuts were present externally, with bruising present in the blubber and muscle in the areas of trauma on the dorsal side,” the group’s Instagram post read.
The necropsy results also found blood in the whale’s lungs as well as lesions in the stomach.
“At the conclusion of the necropsy, the whale was buried on the beach,” the group said, although it is unclear where exactly the whale was buried.
Officials at the Marine Mammal Stranding Center in New Jersey said the whale that died after a boat accident on Saturday in Barnegat Bay was thin and found to have blood in the lungs. NBC10’s Matt DeLucia has the story.
Various biological samples were also taken from the whale and sent to labs for further analysis before it was buried, the group said.
The incident that killed the whale occurred on Saturday, Aug. 2, in the bay in the north end of Long Beach Island, not far from the High Bar Harbor neighborhood.
Video obtained by NBC10 showed the moment the whale crashed into the boat, knocking a woman overboard and nearly tipping the boat over.
According to the Marine Mammal Standing Center, the whale was dead before they arrived at the scene.