SAN FRANCISCO ( KRON ) — The number of dead whales found in the San Francisco Bay over the past week has now increased to three. The Marine Mammal Center (TMMC) on Tuesday provided an update after necropsies were performed on the gray whale carcasses, confirming one death was caused by a vessel strike.
One dead adult male gray whale was found floating east of Angel Island on Wednesday before being towed to land the following day for further examination. On Friday, scientists with TMMC and the California Academy of Sciences performed a necropsy, or animal autopsy.
This gray whale “was found to be in good body condition with a full stomach,” wildlife officials said, which indicated that it had eaten recently. The Angel Island whale did not show “initial evidence of blunt force trauma consistent with vessel strike.”
Scientists plan to reexamine the carcass to learn more about what caused the whale’s death…