Sperm whale found floating dead near BP oil disaster site
Sperm whale has been found near the oil spill. Authorities don't know if exposure to oil caused the death.
A dead sperm whale has been found floating near the site of the BP oil spill. In this file photo taken June 12, 2010, crude oil from the Deepwater Horizon oil spill washes ashore in Orange Beach, Ala.
AP
New Orleans
A dead sperm whale has been found floating 77 miles south of the massive oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.
According to a news release, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration is conducting tests to determine the circumstance around the whale's death.
It wasn't known if exposure to oil caused the animal's death.
The whale was found Tuesday but its condition suggests it may have been dead for several days or more than a week.
It's the first dead whale that's been found since an oil rig exploded and sank in the Gulf in April, killing 11 workers.
The whale wasn't found in oiled water but the location of its death is unknown.
NOAA marine mammal experts are working to determine the location from which the whale's body may have drifted.
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