Humpback Whale Found Dead On Northern California Beach

A young humpback whale was found washed up on a Northern California beach with massive fractures to the skull. Experts say that there is a possibility that the 32-foot animal was hit by a boat.

Poor humpback Whale washes up on Souther California beach this weekend. https://t.co/WM46doKcSK pic.twitter.com/9N6OR9Hnbz

— ODM (@therealODM) July 2, 2016

Researchers from the Marine Mammal Center and California Academy of Sciences were able to perform a necropsy on the female whale that was first spotted on Bean Hollow State Beach on Sunday.

According to the Washington Times, scientists found a cut on the whale's front right flipper as there had been evidence that the whale came across a ship. The report said that there have been fractures to the back of the whale's head that are consistent with being hit by a ship, as is the cut on its right flipper. The flipper injury indicated that the creature was previously caught in an entanglement fo some kind.

These species have been moving slowly moving along California's coast as they follow the herring and anchovies that they usually feed on.

This is the second time in a month that scientists had to perform a necropsy on a humpback whale, as noted by the Half Moon Bay Review. Media specialist Giancarlo Rulli said that the previous humpback was found half a mile away and also seemed to have suffered injuries that may be a result of a ship strike.

He also said that this is not the first time this happened - last year, three dead whales also washed up on the same Pacifica beach last year, and finding more than one dead of whale on a beach "isn't necessarily unusual."

Last month, a 45-foot whale was found washed onto rocks near Rye State Park in New Hampshire. Boston News noted that the 18-year-old female whale, identified as Snow Plow, was reported to have had her corpse floating 20 miles out to sea and officials believed that it had been dead for several days before it washed ashore.