LONG BEACH, Wash. — A dead killer whale washed ashore over the weekend near Long Beach.
The 12-foot female orca was found Saturday about a mile north of the Cranberry Beach approach.
Portland State University biology Professor Debbie Duffield and Cascadia Research biologists performed a necropsy Sunday on the animal.
Tiffany Boothe of the Seaside Aquarium says the whale had been dead for a while, but the necropsy revealed hemorrhaging, indicating major trauma.
The orca was between 3 and 6 years old. Photos and DNA testing may determine whether it was a member of the endangered Puget Sound orca population.
Last month, a 39-foot sperm whale and 13-foot newborn gray whale washed ashore on the Long Beach Peninsula. Boothe says a newborn transient killer whale found dead in November died of natural causes.
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