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Expert Says Whale That Washed Ashore On L.I. Had Injuries Likened To Hitting A Vessel

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -  A dead 58-foot whale caused quite a stir on Smith Point Beach on Long Island this week after it washed ashore.

The Riverhead Foundation's Rob DiGiovanni said a necropsy was performed and the right side of the animal was found to be injured. He said it's the type of injury a whale would receive if it hit a vessel.

Expert Says Whale That Washed Ashore On L.I. Had Injuries Likened To Hitting A Vessel

"That's what we would be thinking when we see bruising like that.  You know, the unfortunate part is because the animal was dead for some time and was decomposed,  there weren't a lot of tissues we could get samples from.," he told WCBS 880's Sophia Hall. "So it's not like we have a lot of other data to go on.  But we're able to see that we have an animal that did have evidence of bruising."

The male fin whale was found about 7:30 a.m. Thursday.

Video from the scene shows the whale washed up on the beach not far from the water's edge with a crowd of onlookers gathered around.

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