OUTER BANKS, N.C. — The humpback whale seen drifting close to shore in Corolla likely died from blunt force trauma, officials with Jennette's Pier told WTKR News 3 Monday.
The team from the North Carolina Aquariums, which performed the necropsy on Friday with assistance from the North Carolina Wildlife Resource Commission and Virginia Aquarium.
Watch related: Responders in Corolla working to get humpback whale carcass to shore
The carcass, a 30-foot juvenile humpback, was seen to have multiple fractured cervical vertebrae in the mammal's neck area, with "associated hemorrhaging at the site suggestive of blunt force trauma."
WTKR Outer Banks reporter Will Thomas captured video and photos Friday morning, which was first spotted on Thursday just off shore near the Corolla Light Oceanfront Grille.
The whale's organs were "heavily" decomposed, according to Marina Doshkov, the marine mammal stranding coordinator. Fishery scars from a previous entanglement were also found on the carcass.
The juvenile humback measured at 33 feet 7 inches and weighed around 60,000 pounds. It was buried on the beach with an excavator from Currituck County Public Works.
