SANDY HOOK — A humpback whale that washed ashore in Sandy Hook on Wednesday was a young female in otherwise good condition, and preliminary findings indicate she may have been struck by a vessel, according to the Marine Mammal Stranding Center.
The nonprofit said a necropsy, or animal autopsy, was conducted Thursday, April 2, with assistance from the Atlantic Marine Conservation Society and the MERR Institute. The whale measured 35 feet, 1 inch long and was estimated to weigh about 17 tons.
Examiners found signs of blunt force trauma, including bruising on the right dorsal side of the body and head, findings that are consistent with a suspected vessel strike.
Researchers also documented evidence of an earlier entanglement, noting old scars on the whale’s flukes. The animal had been feeding before its death, with a full gastrointestinal tract observed during the examination.
Biologists collected multiple tissue samples for additional laboratory testing. The Marine Mammal Stranding Center said those results are expected to help determine whether the vessel interaction happened before or after the whale died.
After the necropsy was completed, the whale was buried on the beach.
The stranding center thanked staff from Sandy Hook Gateway National Recreation Area, Blue World Construction Inc., the Atlantic Marine Conservation Society, the MERR Institute and MMSC necropsy volunteers for helping carry out the recovery and examination in difficult weather.
Updates on the case will be posted at mmsc.org/current-cetacean-data.
