Blue whale's death blamed on ship strike

BOLINAS - Scientists who examined a blue whale that washed ashore in Northern California say it was hit by a ship.

A necropsy conducted on Saturday revealed the 79-foot-long whale had 10 broken ribs and 10 fractured vertebrae.

Barbie Halaska, a biologist at the Marine Mammal Center in Sausalito, told the East Bay Times that the whale died of "blunt force trauma due to a boat strike."

The whale was discovered on Agate Beach in Bolinas, about 10 miles north of San Francisco, early Friday. Its body was mostly intact, which allowed researchers to take tissue samples and learn more about the endangered species.

Blue whales are the world's largest animal and they're endangered. About 2,800 live off the California coast.

Based on fluke markings, this particular whale was first spotted in 1999. It's been seen about a dozen times, mostly near the Santa Barbara Channel.

Halaska said the whale can't be towed out to sea due to a nearby reef and will be left on the beach to decompose.