ASSATEAGUE – A preliminary examination of a dead whale found on Assateague this week shows injuries consistent with blunt force trauma, though more information is being collected to determine if the incident occurred before or after the mammal’s death.
On Tuesday, staff members with the Maryland Department of Natural Resources (DNR) and the National Aquarium made their way to Assateague Island to conduct a necropsy on a 33-foot-long female humpback whale that was discovered in the Maryland oversand vehicle (OSV) area early Monday morning.
Preliminary results from that examination revealed a hemorrhage that could have resulted in the whale’s death, officials said.
“Examination of the whale was limited by decomposition,” a statement from stranding team partners reads. “However, findings included that it was a subadult female of 33.8 feet in length with an area of hemorrhage along the left side of the whale. This hemorrhage could be consistent with suspect blunt force trauma (vessel strike). Samples were collected to determine if those lesions occurred before or after death.”
On Monday, a deceased whale was discovered along Assateague Island’s OSV area, although it is unknown as to how long the whale has been dead or whether it washed ashore on Monday or sometime earlier o