A dead whale found on the bow of a cargo ship in Gloucester City last week showed signs of blunt force trauma, according to preliminary information released Friday.
A necropsy has been completed on the fin whale found Jan. 4 on the bow of a container ship docked at a South Jersey port on the Delaware River. The examination is the first step in determining what caused the animal’s death.
The necropsy, also known as an animal autopsy, was performed on the young male whale after it was towed from the Holt Marine Terminal in Gloucester City to the Philadelphia Navy Shipyard, according to a statement from the Marine Mammal Stranding Center.
The 42-foot, 11.5-ton whale showed signs of blunt force trauma to the right side of its body, consistent with a vessel strike, the center said.
Samples taken from the whale will be analyzed to determine if it was hit by the boat before or after it died, investigators said. Those results will be released at a later time.
Due to industrial development along the local shoreline, the whale could not be buried onsite, so it was prepared for transport to an inland burial location, the center said.
Fin whales are an endangered species and rank as the second-largest whale, surpassed only by the blue whale, authorities said.
Since 1978, the center has responded to 34 incidents involving fin whales.