NEW YORK — Marine conservationists and government scientists are seeking clues to the mystery of how a 44-foot (13m) whale carcass ended up on the bow of a cruise liner, where it was discovered as the ship approached New York City’s Port of Brooklyn over the weekend.
A necropsy, the animal equivalent of an autopsy, identified the deceased marine mammal as a mature female sei whale, an endangered species typically found in deep waters far from land, the Atlantic Marine Conservation Society said on May 8.
One key question is whether the whale’s death came before or after its contact with the vessel, according to the non-profit organisation, based in Hampton Bays, New York.
An online statement posted by the society, whose team conducted the necropsy on May 7, said the exam revealed evidence of tissue trauma along whale’s right shoulder blade region, and a right flipper fracture. The creature’s gastrointestinal tract was full of food, it said.
Most of the whale’s organs were sampled, along with tissue and bone, for toxicology and pathology analysis, according to the society.
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