A dead, 58-foot finback whale was found ashore on a Long Island beach. It appears to have been hit by a boat, according to an animal rescue group.
According to a Facebook message posted on Friday by Riverhead Foundation for Marine Research and Preservation, the whale had bruises on its right dorsal and on its side, “consistent with injuries sustained with a vessel strike.”
The whale was first spotted on Thursday at Smith Point County Park beach, said spokeswoman Kimberly Durham for Riverhead Foundation.
When beached, the animal was already in an advanced state of decomposition, she told the AP.
The whale also had bite marks on its belly, reports The Wall Street Journal.
Durham said whales are commonly found in the waters of New York and New Jersey, the Journal reports.
The finbacks are the second-largest type of whale, weighing 40 to 80 tons. According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, in the USA, finbacks are an endangered species.
