CHATHAM, Mass. (AP) _ Marine biologists are trying to figure out what caused the death of a North Atlantic right whale calf, one of just 14 born this winter.

The calf was found dead Thursday off the coast of Chatham on Cape Cod.

A spokeswoman for the International Fund for Animal Welfare says the nearly 30-foot long, roughly 10,000-pound whale has injuries consistent with a vessel propeller strike, but a necropsy is being performed Friday to determine the exact cause. Results are expected in a week.

Misty Niemeyer, the organization's necropsy coordinator, tells the Cape Cod Times (http://bit.ly/24xrpgk ) the endangered whale died recently.

The calf and its mother were last spotted April 28 in Cape Cod Bay. It was first spotted January 12 off Georgia.

There are an estimated 500 North Atlantic right whales left.

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