On May 8, a carcass of an adult female gray whale was stranded on rocks near the Oakland International Airport.
What happened?
The carcass of a 44-foot adult whale was spotted near the Bay Bridge and it was stranded on rocks near the Oakland International Airport.
The carcass was towed to a beach on Angel Island where a team of scientists from the Marine Mammal Center and the California Academy of Sciences performed a necroscopy and concluded that the female whale suffered significant blunt force trauma resulting in its death.
Blunt force trauma
Dr. Padraig Duignan, Chief Research Pathologist at The Marine Mammal Center in a statement, “It was apparent early in the necropsy that this adult whale suffered significant blunt force trauma. While this is a sad outcome, the information gathered from this carcass is shared directly with our partners and partner agencies, helping inform policy decisions that can protect habitat areas, migration routes and food sources for marine mammals.”
He further added, “This is the third gray whale death it has responded to since the beginning of 2018”.
Killed in collision
The female whale suffered multiple skull fractures and bruises, as well as hemorrhaging to blubber and muscle tissue on the left side of its body, which are consistent with blunt force trauma. The team of experts concluded that the injuries sustained by the whale are consistent with a vessel collision.
The California Academy of Sciences archived the whale’s hip bones and the Marine Mammal Center was able to collect tissue samples for various research studies. As of now, remains unclear which ship may have struck the whale. An investigation has been initiated to look into this incident.
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Source: CBS San Francisco
