TACOMA — The fin whale that washed up in Commencement Bay after being impaled by a cargo ship was young, healthy and feeding when it was killed, according to a necropsy report.
Officials performed the necropsy Saturday, a day after the 52-foot endangered whale was found dead and a cargo ship captain reported the bow of his ship may be to blame.
The whale was feeding on krill in the Strait of Juan de Fuca when it was struck by the underwater bow of the ship, KIRO reported.
“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,” according to the necropsy, done by the Cascadia Research Collective.
Fin whales are the second largest creatures and listed as endangered in the United States. They grow up to by 88 feet long and weigh 50 to 70 tons.
