Expert Says Whale That Washed Ashore On L.I. Had Injuries Likened To Hitting A Vessel

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -  A dead 58-foot whale caused quite a stir on Smith Point Beach on Long Island this week after it washed ashore.

The Riverhead Foundation's Rob DiGiovanni said a necropsy was performed and the right side of the animal was found to be injured. He said it's the type of injury a whale would receive if it hit a vessel.

"That's what we would be thinking when we see bruising like that.  You know, the unfortunate part is because the animal was dead for some time and was decomposed,  there weren't a lot of tissues we could get samples from.," he told WCBS 880's Sophia Hall. "So it's not like we have a lot of other data to go on.  But we're able to see that we have an animal that did have evidence of bruising."

The male fin whale was found about 7:30 a.m. Thursday.

Video from the scene shows the whale washed up on the beach not far from the water's edge with a crowd of onlookers gathered around.

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