Long Beach, WA - 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. The Oregonian reports (http://is.gd/er3OxO ) 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 Puget Sound orca population. Last month, a 39-foot sperm whale and 13-foot newborn gray whale washed ashore on the Long Beach Peninsula and a newborn orca was found dead in November.
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