Necropsy results released after whale struck boat in Barnegat Bay, New Jersey
The Marine Mammal Stranding Center on Monday released the preliminary necropsy of the whale that died in Barnegat Bay, New Jersey, after striking a boat over the weekend.
The MMSC, Atlantic Marine Conservation Society and Cornell University conducted a necropsy, an animal autopsy, on the minke whale that was stranded in Barnegat Bay on Saturday.
The whale was 26 feet, 4 inches long and confirmed to be an adult female. The MMSC said the whale's body condition was thin. It also had "superficial cuts" externally and "bruising present in the blubber and muscle in the areas of trauma on the dorsal side." Blood was also present in the whale's lungs, according to the MMSC.
"GI tract was empty with very little digestive material present, and a scant amount of fecal matter," the MMSC wrote. "Lesions were present in the stomach."
At the end of the necropsy, the whale was buried on the beach.
The MMSC said the other biological samples collected were sent to a pathologist for further analysis.
After the whale struck the boat on Saturday afternoon, a passenger went overboard and fell into the Double Creek Channel of Barnegat Bay. No injuries were reported among the boat's passengers.