A North Atlantic right whale breaches the surface of the ocean. (NOAA file photo) NEW YORK - Preliminary observations of a dead rare whale off the coast of New Jersey are consistent with a collision with a ship, federal authorities said.The whale was a North Atlantic right whale and its carcass was found off Monmouth Beach, N.J.
on June 26. The whales number only about 400 and they are vulnerable to collisions with ships and fatal entanglements in fishing gear.The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said the whale has been identified as a male calf.