SAN FRANCISCO (KRON) — A dead gray whale found near Pier 80 in San Francisco last week was killed by a vessel strike, The Marine Mammal Center announced Wednesday.
Scientists were alerted to the dead adult male gray whale on June 4. After it was towed to Angel Island State Park, teams conducted a necropsy, or animal autopsy.
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“Their investigation uncovered evidence of blunt force trauma consistent with vessel strike including a broken vertebra and hemorrhaging behind the skull,” TMMC wrote.
The Pier 80 whale marks the 12th dead gray whale found in the Bay Area this year and the fourth determined to have been killed by a suspected ship strike…