Rare Alaska Humpback Whale Killed

July 26, 2001– An endangered humpback whale was struck in the head and killed while swimming in or near Alaska’s Glacier Bay National Park, a major tourist destination and an area heavily traveled by cruise ships, the National Service said on Tuesday.

 The 37-year-old pregnant female whale, found last week floating in Glacier Bay, died from a severe blow to the right side of its head, probably the result of a collision with a large vessel, the Park Service said. Tomie Lee, Glacier Bay’s superintendent, said a Park Service investigator is tracking records of large vessels that were recently in the area, including cruise ships, cargo ships and any other ships. The investigator plans to interview ship captains and crews, she said.    Lee said it was too early to blame a cruise ship for the whale’s death. “Really, we don’t know at this point. Anything would be just speculation,” she said. Lee said there had been no reports from any ship about a collision with a whale.   The whale’s carcass was examined by Dr. Frances Gulland, a veterinarian with the Marine Mammal Center in Sausalito, California. She concluded that the whale died instantly, and that the injury was consistent with a strike from a large vessel. She also concluded that the whale died a week or two before it was examined last Saturday.

  The dead whale is now on a beach inside the boundary of the southeast Alaska park, the Park Service said.    Humpback whales are protected under the Endangered Species Act. In the waters of Glacier Bay National Park – including Glacier Bay itself and some of the waters in Icy Strait – regulations prohibit vessels from operating with a quarter mile of a humpback whale. Another park regulation requires a report within 24 hours from any vessel that strikes any object.   The whale that died was known by biologist as No.68. It was first sighted as an adult in 1979, and has been monitored since then, the Park Service said. Individual humpback whales are identified by the markings on their tails.   Lee said the whale was not known previously to have been in park waters.