Yesterday researchers concluded their necropsy of a gray whale found earlier this week off the west side of Vashon.

The whale measured just under 29 feet and was a yearling male, according to results posted online by the Olympia-based Cascadia Research Collective.

No food was found in its stomach, but there were some indications it had tried to feed, as sand and a zip tie were inlcuded in the stomach contents. Experts believe the whale likely died either Sunday or Monday.

The young whale was spotted earlier this month at the Ballard Locks, and researchers said then they expected it was sick because of its aberrant behavior and small size. After the whale’s death, John Calambokidis, a research biologist at Cascadia Research, said that because this whale was emaciated, he expects it was likely in poor health as far back as last year. The necropsy was expercted to reveal additional information, which has not yet been made public.

“We are starting with a strong presumption that starvation played a significant role,” Calambokidis said on Tuesday. “What its cause was and what contributed is what we will by trying to determine with the examination.”

He noted that while Puget Sound is known to be polluted, it would be incorrect to assume that pollution caused this animal’s death.

“It’s too soon to tell what happened,” he said. “We cannot tie its poor condition to the condition of Puget Sound.”

In recent weeks, this whale was also seen in the Nisqually Delta in south Puget Sound March, Calambokidis noted, and it is possibly the same whale spotted spotted in the Foss Waterway in the first week of April. He added it is one of several gray whales in Puget Sound, including a small group of regularly returning gray whales that feed each spring in north Puget Sound.

Cascadia Research is working with other members of the umbrella group Northwest Marine Mammal Stranding Network to examine the whale. On Tuesday, representatives from Citizens for a Healthy Bay towed the whale to a safe location in the south sound for the examination. More information about the whale and its cause of death is expected by the end of the week.