Dead deep-sea whale was found near Sitka, the second this month

Authorities are dealing with a rare deep-sea whale stranding after a Cuvier’s beaked whale—about 20 feet long—was found near Sitka, the second such event reported this month. In early June, campers on Kruzof Island discovered the adult whale at low tide and noticed a fetus protruding from its body. The group identified the animals as Cuvier’s beaked whales and contacted the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association’s regional marine mammal stranding network coordinators, who arranged for careful removal of the fetus and transport back to Sitka on an eight-foot dinghy. A whale biologist at the University of Alaska Southeast, Lauren Wild, later received the fetus for storage and potential necropsy to learn more. The species is a rare offshore deep diver, capable of dives of at least 3,300 feet, and is also linked to conditions affecting Navy sonar. Wild said a second beaked whale washed ashore in Yakutat in early June, underscoring the unusual pattern.