Endangered whale was healthy before cargo ship hit, killed it

A young 52-foot, endangered whale was healthy and feeding on krill in the Strait of Juan de Fuca before it was hit by a boat and killed – according to a necropsy report.

KIRO's Chopper 7 was over Tacoma's Commencement Bay when the rare fin whale floated in the water.

Biologists conducted the necropsy on May 13, one day after a captain of a cargo ship reported the whale was impaled on the bow of his ship.

>> See photos of the whale here 

The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife reported on Friday that bows of cargo ships have spear-like protrusions underwater that likely impaled the whale and killed it.

“There was a significant amount of hemorrhage along the mid-back, which was determined to be the point of impact of the ship clearly while the whale was still alive,” read Cascadia Research Collective’s report.

Fin whales are the second largest creatures to ever roam the earth, only behind the blue whale.

They reach 85 feet and 75 tons and live up to 90 years.

>> Related: Endangered fin whale spotted off Washington

Listed as an endangered species in the United States, they once were common in the Salish Sea. Researchers say they were driven out of the Puget Sound—nearly wiped out by hunters—along with the humpback whales.

Cascadia Research Collective reports that events in recent weeks have highlighted some of the continued threats to whales in our region. A gray whale was struck by a boat a few weeks ago off Everett.

Cox Media Group