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The male humpback whale first washed up dead in the surf in Loveladies, but the tide pulled the carcass back out, the Marine Mammal Stranding Center said. The carcass washed back out on Barnegat Light on Christmas Day.
The same whale -- approximately three years old -- had been photographed alive earlier this year in Sandy Hook Bay during feeding.
Imprints of teeth on the fluke of the dead whale's tail indicates a young orca's failed attempt to take it, the MMSC said.
The attempt likely happened during the spring migration returning north from the Caribbean, but the whale's mother was likely able to defend him, the organization said.
"We have seen healed orca teeth rake marks during necropsies of other humpback whales in the past, but this is the most distinct example we have documented to date," MMSC said.
Marks along part of the body were determined to be from the wave action dragging the carcass across the submerged portion of the jetty, and occurred after the whale had died, officials said.
Officials waited until Monday to bury the whale so that they could get help from state and local workers, who weren't available over the weekend, MMSC co-director Bob Schoelkopf told Daily Voice.
Park personnel, NJ Fish and Wildlife, local law enforcement and public works employees helped bury the whale 9 a.m. Monday, Schoelkopf said, something that is done "whenever possible."
The whale had been dead for approximately a week. No cause of death was determined through a necropsy performed Monday, Schoelkopf said.
"While it always saddens us to see a deceased whale, there is always something to be learned about the fascinating lives of these animals during a necropsy."
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