Whale that washed up near Alameda likely killed by vessel strike
(KRON) — A dead gray whale that washed up off the shore of Crown Beach in Alameda earlier this month likely died due to a vessel strike, according to the California Academy of Sciences. The whale, which appeared off the coast of Alameda on the night of Saturday, April 20, was towed to Angel Island State Park where scientists performed a necropsy on the mammal.
On Tuesday, officials with the academy and the Marine Mammal Center announced the whale likely died “due to blunt force trauma from a vessel strike.” The necropsy, a term that refers to an animal autopsy, was conducted on Saturday, April 27.
The gray whale was identified by scientists as a 40-foot adult female. Its stomach contents were full and its injuries were consistent with blunt force trauma, officials said. However, the official cause of the whale’s death could not be fully determined due to its decomposed state and body position.
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“Each whale that washes up is an opportunity for scientists to learn more about the species and the population,” said Moe Flannery, senior collections manager of ornithology and mammalogy at the academy. “Although the Unusual Mortality Event (UME) investigation is now closed, the science does not stop. We will continue to gain as much knowledge as possible from each whale that washes ashore in our area.”
After washing up on April 20, the whale landed on a sandbar before dislodging and free floating with the tide, officials said. A towing team transported it to Angel Island on April 22.
However, scientists were unable to perform a necropsy for several days, due to extreme wind conditions and the timing of the tide, officials said. The incident marked the first local whale mortality of this year.
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