A dead whale was observed drifting parallel to Sandy Beach Saturday morning. U.S. Coast Guard and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration officials coordinated in moving the whale to a secure location so scientists can perform a necropsy to determine the cause of the whale’s death. The necropsy is scheduled to begin on Sunday.
The whale was identified as a male calf, according to Jennifer Angelo, NOAA Fisheries Alaska Region communications lead.
Around 50 people were scattered on the beach near Bear Creek and the edge of First Street to watch as a Coast Guard boat towed the whale southeast down Gastineau Channel.
Some longtime Juneau residents said a dead whale in the channel is rare. Others recalled the death of Tango, a local humpback whale found dead on Hump Island as a result of a large vessel strike.
Barb Lake, a member of the NOAA Fisheries Marine Mammal Stranding Response Network, said she came out to support the team. The Stranding Response Network responds to endangered marine mammals and investigates their deaths. She spoke about the importance of investigating whale deaths.
“Whales are charismatic. They’re part of a huge whale watching industry here in Juneau, and just tourism in general for the state,” she said. “So we want to make sure that if we’re seeing dead whales, that it’s hopefully from natural causes and that there isn’t something that we’re doing to influence them, or that there isn’t something wrong in the environment.”
Lake said it is important not to jump to conclusions until more data is collected on the cause of the whale’s death, which could take months.
“It just takes time sometimes,” she said. “We have to take samples, send them to the lab. They have to get processed. And then we can determine what the cause of death is based on those. So it’s not a quick process, and it involves many layers of different agencies and organizations to get those things.”
Longtime Juneau residents Audrey Scott and Lynn Ridle came from their home in Mendenhall Valley to see the whale. Ridle said that in his 50 years in Juneau, this is the first dead whale he has seen. Like many of those on the beach, he was left with lingering curiosity.
“It’d be good to know what might have happened to cause that,” he said, watching the whale be dragged behind the Coast Guard boat.
“I think that’s everybody’s big question right now,” Scott added.
NOAA Fisheries Alaska Region communications lead Jennifer Angelo recommended that the public maintain distance from the whale to prevent contracting disease and to give responders space to work. She also noted that the public can contact NOAA Fisheries Alaska Statewide 24-hour Stranding Hotline at (877) 925-7773 if they encounter an injured or stranded whale.
This story was originally published by the Juneau Independent.