A 25-foot whale was found washed up on Rockaway’s shores on Friday morning after it was attacked and possibly killed by a ship.
A female minke whale with “several broken bones and cuts all over her body” was found at 9 a.m. near 29th Street Beach. According to the Atlantic Ocean Conservation Society.
“There was additional evidence of blunt trauma,” the group said, indicating that the mammals likely died after being hit by boats and other craft.
The harrowing image of the whale shows at least three deep cuts from its rump to its belly.
Mink deaths have increased along the Atlantic coast since 2017, with at least 141 deaths found in those years, prompting NOAA to declare an unusual death event.
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A minke whale was the second to wash up on Rockaway since December.
In an earlier case, a baby whale was still alive when it washed up on a nearby beach late last year, but died when rescuers were unable to get it back into the water.
About two weeks ago, a 40-year-old humpback whale named Luna washed up on the shores of Long Beach. The 14.5-ton Leviathan, tracked by scientists for decades, was also killed by the ship while trying to break through the surface.
