A gray whale that was found dead on a San Francisco beach was hit by a ship, a necropsy on the animal shows. The 41-foot-long adult female was spotted Monday at Ocean Beach. The Marine Mammal Center says a necropsy performed Tuesday found the whale’s skull and upper vertebrae had fractures consistent with a ship strike. The whale also seemed in poor shape. Its insulating layer of blubber was thinner than usual. Advertisement It’s the ninth whale found dead in the San Francisco Bay Area since March. The center says three previous whales died from ship strikes and four from malnutrition. The center says some gray whales are in poor condition during this year’s annual migration from Mexico to Alaska. They suspect some are having trouble finding food as warming ocean conditions cause changes in their food supplies.<doc-sep>People look at a beached dead gray whale at Ocean Beach on May 6 in San Francisco, California. The Marine Mammal Center will perform a necropsy of the whale on Tuesday to determine the cause of death. (CNN) — A dead gray whale washed ashore on a San Francisco beach Monday morning – the ninth such death in the Bay Area this year, scientists at the Marine Mammal Center said. “The death of nine gray whales in the San Francisco Bay Area this year is a cause for serious concern and reinforces the need to continue to perform and share the results of these type of investigations with key decision-makers,” Dr. Padraig Duignan, Chief Research Pathologist at the center, said. A necropsy will be performed on the whale Tuesday, the Marine Mammal Center said. 1/2: The Marine Mammal Center confirms a dead gray whale washed ashore early this morning at Ocean Beach in San Francisco. Our scientists & partners plan to perform a necropsy, or animal autopsy, tomorrow in an attempt to determine the cause of death. 📸 Credit Sarah Maria Curran pic.twitter.com/6sDhSnhz8H — The Marine Mammal Center (@TMMC) May 6, 2019 Blunt force trauma from ships, malnutrition and entanglements are the most common causes of death in whales, the center said. Necropsies have confirmed the cause of seven of the previous eight whale deaths this year. Three whales died from ship strikes and four from malnutrition. The cause of death of the eighth whale has not been determined. “It is critical for scientists to conduct in-depth necropsies to better understand why animals are dying,” the center said in a news release. “Whales and other marine mammals face numerous human-caused threats and solutions must be found to protect healthy and vulnerable species alike,” the center said. Reports of whales in ‘poor body condition’ Today, there are about 26,000 gray whales, found only in the Pacific Ocean, according to the center. There are more gray whales around the San Francisco area than usual this time of year, as they migrate north. The center says biologists have observed gray whales “in poor body condition” this year, possibly “due to anomalous oceanic conditions” which have contributed to “shifting food sources.” The 90,000-pound creatures were once on the brink of extinction. In the late 1800s and again in the early 1900s, the gray whale population dropped to less than 2,000 after they had been hunted by humans. In 1946, an international agreement to stop hunting them helped put their numbers back on track and in 1994 they were taken off the Endangered Species List. CNN’s Sarah Moon contributed to this report.<doc-sep>Four of the nine whale deaths counted and studied by the Marine Mammal Center since March 10 were determined to have been caused by malnutrition, while three were caused by ship strikes. A ship strike is suspected to have killed a fourth whale, and the cause of death for one animal, found April 30, has not been determined.<doc-sep>The Associated Press SAUSALITO, Calif. – Marine mammal experts are concerned about the death of a gray whale that washed ashore in San Francisco. The whale found Monday on Ocean Beach was the ninth discovered in the San Francisco Bay Area since March. The Marine Mammal Center plans a necropsy to determine what killed the animal. The center says four previous whales died from malnutrition and three were struck by ships. The cause of death for another hasn’t been determined. But the center says biologists have spotted gray whales in poor condition during this year’s annual migration from Mexico to Alaska. They suspect some are having trouble finding enough to eat as warming ocean conditions cause changes to their food supplies, which can range from krill and small shrimp-like animals to small fish.<doc-sep>
SAN FRANCISCO — A whale that washed up dead on Ocean Beach on Monday had several fractures to its skull and other injuries to indicate it was hit by a ship, officials for The Marine Mammal Center said. Scientists performed a necropsy — an animal autopsy — on the beach Tuesday and said blunt force trauma associated with its collision with a ship caused the death. The whale is the ninth to be found dead this year in Bay Area waters, and the fourth that has been hit by a ship, officials said. Dr. Padraig Duignan, the Chief Research Pathologist at the mammal center said scientists are “incredibly concerned” about the pattern. The necropsy showed that several vertebrae on the 41-foot whale also were broken, and that it has suffered significant bleeding and bruising, officials said. The whale was female and also appeared to be a bit malnourished, with a layer of blubber that was thinner than normal, officials said. The whales migrate from Alaska to Baja, California and back each year, the longest migration in the world, according to the mammal center. “As gray whale migration season enters its final stages of the season, adult female gray whales and their calves with low body reserves are the last to migrate northward to their feeding grounds in the Arctic,” Duignan said in a statement. “These mother whales are worn out and running on empty, making them even more susceptible to negative human interactions, including ship strikes and entanglements.” Two whales found dead along the waterfronts of San Mateo and Richmond found three days apart in April both were hit by ships, officials said. A ship also fatally hit a whale that washed up in Pacifica on April 16. Officials at Golden Gate National Recreation Area were working on a plan to remove the whale’s body, officials said. Members of the public and their pets were advised to stay away.