The whale is located about two miles south of Dewey Beach.
A necropsy was performed befor the animal was buried.
Suzanne Thurman with the MERR Institute said they know the whale was struck by a large ship because it had a fractured skull and fractured lower jaw.
However, they could not determine if the whale had any health issues that put it in a weakened state and prevented it from getting out of the way of a ship.
Samples are being sent for analysis but Thurman says because of the state of decomposition more information may never be known.
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