A minke whale that died after colliding with a small boat Saturday in Barnegat Bay was buried on a beach in Island Beach State Park following a necropsy Monday, the Marine Mammal Stranding Center said.
The necropsy found that the whale was female; 26 feet, 4 inches long; and thin and suffering from external trauma.
"Superficial cuts were present externally, with bruising present in the blubber and muscle in the areas of trauma on the dorsal side. Blood was present in the lungs," the Brigantine-based stranding center said in an update posted to its website and Facebook page .
The necropsy also found the whale had not eaten much lately, noting "the GI tract was empty with very little digestive material present, and a scant amount of fecal matter."
An examination also found lesions in