Since mid-May, five dead whales have washed up on the Canadian and U.S. west coasts.
A beaked whale washed up in Northern California on May 15, a sperm whale was found in the area on July 29, and on September 12, a dead juvenile male humpback was found south of Fort Bragg.
Then, on October 26, the body of a 32-foot humpback male calf was found near Fort Bragg and a day later, the body of a female humpback named Spike was found near Vancouver Island, British Columbia.
The question scientists now face is, what’s causing these deaths?
Whales are an indicator of ocean health and though tragic and disturbing, when dead whales wash ashore they allow scientists to look for possible causes and help them understand ocean conditions.
“The opportunity to learn from a dead whale is a rarity,” as “dead whales usually sink to the bottom of the ocean,” Jackie Hildering of British Columbia’s Marine Education and Research Society (MERS) told the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation after Spike was found.
In California, skin and blubber samples as well as pelvic bones, were taken from the most recent humpback to wash ashore and transported to the California Academy of Sciences for further research.
Whales are sometimes killed in ship strikes, and although a laceration was seen on the right side of the calf found on October 26, Sarah Grimes of the Noyo Center for Marine Science told the Mendocino Voice that “nothing obvious points to ship strike at this time.”
North of the border, Fisheries and Oceans Canada is investigating the death of Spike, who was found on the north side of British Columbia’s Malcolm Island. Spike also didn’t have visible injuries, but MERS went on Instagram to state that “it will not be a surprise if it is found that she died from blunt force trauma resulting from being hit by a boat,” adding that “the tragedy might lead to more awareness, from who to call [in case of a marine mammal death], to whatever conclusions can be made about the cause of her death.”
The Noyo Center warned the public not to approach a dead marine mammal but to contact the proper authorities. Apart from human interaction, according to NOAA Fisheries, unusual mortality events are often attributed to infectious disease and biotoxins.
