MINKE WHALE DIES : SANDBAR : BOATS : STARVATION? : WHALE STRANDINGS DRAMATIC INCREASE

It appears that a Minke whale may have been starving, come close to shore, got stranded on a sandbar, and in it's struggle to get free, hit into a boat, throwing a boat occupant.. Here's the coverage by Newsweek.

NEWSWEEK : MINKE WHALES DIES AFTER BOAT COLLISION


Excerpt: However, vessel strikes, entanglement, and habitat disturbances remain significant threats to whales along the eastern seaboard.

U.S. maritime law, specifically the Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972, prohibits the harassment, hunting, capturing, or killing of marine mammals. The law includes specific rules for recreational and commercial vessels, requiring operators to avoid approaching whales within 100 yards and to reduce speed in certain areas to minimize the risk of collisions.


CBS NEWS: MINKE WHALE DEATH EXAMINATION RESULTS


Excerpts: The whale was 26 feet, 4 inches long and confirmed to be an adult female. The MMSC said the whale's body condition was thin. It also had "superficial cuts" externally and "bruising present in the blubber and muscle in the areas of trauma on the dorsal side." Blood was also present in the whale's lungs, according to the MMSC. .... "GI tract was empty with very little digestive material present, and a scant amount of fecal matter," the MMSC wrote. "Lesions were present in the stomach."