A deceased 2 year old male gray
whale was found floating near Point Whitehorn on Monday, April 27.
The carcass was captured and pulled to shore where, for 2 days, it was
examined and studied. On the evening of Wednesday, April 29 it was
pulled back into the water, and in a few days it will be taken over to
the Friday Harbor Laboratories where it will be further examined and
studied.
On this page you will find many photos related to this event, along
with links to news videos and stories. However, some people might find
some of the photos a little disturbing. These photos show the whale
during and after the Necropsy.
In order to make this page enjoyable for even those who are a
little squeamish, we have placed all of the potentially troubling
photos at the very bottom of this page. Where these photos start we
have placed a large RED BANNER to warn
that the Necropsy photos are about to begin. Those who do not wish to
view these photos should stop at that banner and not continue to the
bottom of the page. Everything up to that line is intended to be
"Family Friendly".
Posted May 3 2009 - Click
here
for preliminary
report on the necropsy findings.
Posted May 1 2009 - Letter from
Mariann Carrasco, Principal Investigator, WMMSN
I just wanted to thank everyone involved in the transport,
recovery and necropsy of the young male gray whale that died off
Cherry Point on Monday. It was the largest and most complicated
stranding effort we have had to date and I was really proud of
the WMMSN members that pulled together and made themselves
available on such sort notice. In addition, the community within
Whatcom County really pulled together as well.
Many thanks to Foss tugboats and the captain, Doug Bezona, and
crew of the "Andrew Foss" that moved the whale after
necropsy; Samson Rope of Ferndale for their donation of 2000
feet of rope that allowed the Andrew Foss to pull the whale off
the beach; Mary Green, Roland Middleton and their crew of
Whatcom County Public Works for assisting with their skiff in
removing the whale; David Roberts with DNR for helping us locate
a place to put the whale prior to Friday Harbor labs retrieving
it, Jeff Chalfant of BP environmental for locating a necropsy
location and assisting with transport of the whale to the
necropsy site, and Skip and Chris Salene for offering up their
beach for the necropsy location.
Many thanks to Carley, Mike, Bob, Claudia, Darryl, Joan,
Edradine, Tiffany, Heather, and Christi from WMMSN with helping
find, fetch, remove, and baby sit the whale, as well as
assisting with the necropsy. Thanks also to the Cascadia team
and WDFW for the necropsy work. We all learned a lot! And thanks
to Bill Crawford, and Bert Rubash and Elizabeth Kilanowski for
assisting with removal of the whale. And I can't forget my
husband, Ken, who helped Mike with the initial transport of the
whale in Mike's skiff and assisted with removing it Wednesday
night.
Also thanks to Kristin for her tireless work from NOAA's end to
secure approval and provide connections from all aspects of this
operation. She is very much appreciated. And thanks to the local
media for providing great coverage of our situation.
Please pass this message on to the appropriate people in your
organization that should see it. And if I have missed someone, I
do very much apologize as your contributions are very much
appreciated.
Hopefully, we will not have another stranding such as this one
for a long time. But it is good to know that we have such strong
support from the community. Thanks everyone!
Posted April 30 2009 6:00 PM
From Mariann Carrasco, Principal Investigator of the WMMSN
A young 2 year old male gray whale that had died, was discovered
floating in the ocean near Pt. Whitehorn on Monday, April 27.
The carcass was transferred to a private beach off Gulf Rd, near
the Cherry Point Refinery by members of our WMMSN team with
assistance from BP staff, where access for a necropsy could be
performed. The necropsy team led by Cascadia Research Collective
and WDFW, completed the necropsy on Tuesday, April 28. Our own
WMMSN team members assisted with this necropsy and made all the
arrangements in concert with NOAA. At this time, all that can be
determined from the necropsy is that the young male was in good
health at the time of death and he died suddenly of acute
trauma. Hopefully, lab results will be able to determine the
cause of death. When necropsy results are in, they will be
posted on this website. Thank you to all the WMMSN members would
assisted with this recovery effort and all other members of the
public who assisted as well.
At this time, all that has been determined is that the young
male was in good health and died suddenly of acute trauma. We
hope that the lab results will help to more precisely determine
the cause of death. As we learn more we will continue to post
the findings to this WEB site.
Thanks to all who assisted us in this important work. There are
many who donated their time and resources, and we are grateful
for these contributions.
Whale carcass floating near Pt. Whitehorn. The carcass was
first spotted off the point on Monday, April 27.
Another view of the carcass on the beach. The curious begin to
gather. Because this is an unusual event, the public is
welcome to view as long as they stay behind the lines.
Taking measurements before the necropsy begins. This is being
done by members of the Cascadia Research Collective, the
Washington State Department of Fish and Wildlife, and
volunteers from the Whatcom Marine Mammal Stranding Network.
As the sun sets, the Andrew Foss tugboat has pulled the
carcass back out into the water. In this photo the carcass can
be seen floating off to the right. The crew of the tug is
passing the tow line to a smaller boat, owned and crewed by
Whatcom County, that will assist with anchoring the whale
carcass until a boat from the Friday Harbor Labs arrives to
take the carcass to their facility.
The necropsy
photos start below this line. These photos show a whale
being dissected. If you would be uncomfortable viewing these
types of photos you should stop here!
