A threatened species of whale in Canada was found dead andfirmly wedged against the bow of a cruise ship following its arrivalfrom Alaska.
The fin whales was found wedged to the Princess Cruise Lines’ Sapphire Princess ship, which docked at Canada Place on Saturday morning.
In a news release, the cruise liner said that itis unknown how or when this could have happened, as they have strictwhale avoidance procedures in place when our ships are in the vicinityof marine life.
The adult whale was an estimated 70 feet long, according to Lisa Spaven of the Department of Fisheries and Oceans.
It was wedged on top of the bulbous bow, the part that cuts through the water.
The whale’s fin and part of its body protruded from the water as tourists watched from Vancouver’s cruise ship terminal.
The fisheries department will need to conduct a necropsy in order todetermine if the ship actually struck the whale while it was alive or if thewhale was floating dead at sea and then got caught in the bow.
