The dead North Atlantic Right whale found in Cape waters last Thursday may have been the victim of a ship strike.
Officials with NOAA, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, say bruising consistent with blunt trauma could be evidence of a ship strike but more testing needs to be done.
Cape Cod Bay has seen an unusually large number of Right whales in the past week or two with nearly one-third of the animal’s total population present and feeding on an abundance of phytoplankton. There are only about 520 North Atlantic Right whales on the planet.