Dead whale in New Jersey had a fractured skull among numerous injuries, experts find

A post-mortem examination of a whale that washed ashore on New Jersey’s Long Beach Island shows the animal sustained numerous blunt force injuries including a fractured skull and vertebrae. The Marine Mammal Stranding Center on Friday released observations from a necropsy done Thursday evening on the nearly 25-foot juvenile male humpback whale that was found dead in Long Beach Township. The whale was found to have bruising around the head; multiple fractures of the skull and cervical vertebrae; numerous dislocated ribs, and a dislocated shoulder bone. Those injuries are consistent with blunt force trauma.