Juneau Empire Story Archive

National Park Service investigates orca death

JUNEAU EMPIRE

The National Park Service is investigating the death of a juvenile female killer whale discovered on a beach in Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve on Friday.

The whale, which weighed 600 to 1,000 pounds, was found on the northwest shore of Young Island, with the remnants of fishing gear attached to the inside of its mouth, according to the Park Service.

The carcass bore no apparent signs of external injury and it was dissected by federal and University of Alaska Southeast biologists over the weekend to determine the cause of death.

Findings from the necropsy are expected in about two weeks.

Killer whales visit Glacier Bay and Southeast Alaska in pods comprising three to 40 animals. A pod of about 30 whales had been observed in lower Glacier Bay and Icy Strait before Friday, according to the Park Service.

The agency wants anyone who knows anything about the death to contact the Park Service at 907-697-2627 or the National Marine Fisheries Service at 586-7225.

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