New details on whale that knocked woman from boat in New Jersey's Barnegat Bay
Preliminary necropsy findings revealed the whale was in overall thin body condition, officials said.
BARNEGAT BAY, N.J. (WPVI) -- The Marine Mammal Stranding Center released new details Monday following the death of a minke whale at the Jersey shore.
The 26-foot-long female whale collided with a boat on the water in Barnegat Bay , knocking a boater overboard.
The whale could be seen thrashing in the water after hitting the boat, then it swam away.
"At approximately 3:40 p.m., a boater in the area reported that a vessel had struck the whale, causing the vessel to nearly capsize and a passenger to go overboard," according to a statement from MMSC.
The scary wildlife encounter unfolded in an area north of the Double Creek Channel in Ocean County, officials said.
Action News viewer Kim Mancini, of Lacey Township, sent in the video, telling us the whale was desperately trying to get to deeper water, but could not make it.
"It was really in distress. That's when it would go under boats; it was a crazy experience," Mancini said.
She says there was something visibly wrong with the large mammal.
The Marine Mammal Stranding Center said that about 50 minutes before the accident, it received a call that a whale had been spotted in Barnegat Bay near the inlet. Staff from the center, the Coast Guard, New Jersey Marine Police and the New Jersey Fish and Wildlife Conservation officers responded to the area.
Officials said that after the collision, the whale was spotted resting on a sandbar in shallow water.
An MMSC employee and Fish and Wildlife officers approached the whale by boat but could only get within 30 yards of the mammal. Tidal conditions at the time prevented them from reaching the sandbar to examine the whale, officials said.
The whale was later pronounced dead on the sandbar, according to MMSC.
Preliminary necropsy findings revealed the whale was in overall thin body condition, officials said.
"Superficial cuts were present externally, with bruising present in the blubber and muscle in the areas of trauma on the dorsal side," MMSC said in a statement. "Blood was present in the lungs. The GI tract was empty with very little digestive material present, and a scant amount of fecal matter. Lesions were present in the stomach."
Before the whale was buried on the beach, samples were collected for further analysis. The final results will be posted on the MMSC's website.
Meanwhile, MMSC is advising boaters to keep a minimum of 150 feet away from the whale carcass.
The woman who was thrown from the boat was not hurt.
ABC News contributed to this report.
