Three Cook Inlet Belugas found dead in Knik Arm, Tyonek

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (KTUU) - Biologists are trying to learn more about a dead beluga whale that washed up Tuesday morning near the mouth of Ship Creek in Anchorage.

Two dead belugas were spotted in Cook Inlet on Monday, with the other still likely floating there, according to Jill Seymour, a biologist with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

NOAA Fisheries said it was first notified of the two dead whales in Knik Arm on Monday, September 28. A third dead Cook Inlet beluga was reported near Tyonek the following day.

An adult female whale was discovered near the end of the Ship Creek small boat launch.

NOAA has since identified the whale as D224, an adult female at least 22 years old.

Biologist Natalie Rouse with Alaska Veterinary Pathology Services said there were no obvious signs of trauma.

“So far it looks like a pretty healthy whale, so I have no idea why it died yet,” she said. “We are going to get in there and get some samples of the organs and do some analysis of why it died.”

Biologists say it’s not unusual for belugas to die naturally in Cook Inlet, and people often find their bodies this time of year.

“We tend to get more reports in the fall and late summer,” Seymour said. “People are out more on the water, on the shoreline, and the carcasses are more visible so they get reported more frequently.”

Seymour said the chance to sample a fresh animal is an important way to learn about the endangered species health, including sometimes, pinpointing the cause of death.

“Some of those analyses take several months to complete,” she said. “So we don’t always have an answer right away. And sometimes, just like with people for example, you don’t always know, despite every test you can run.”

Even if scientists can’t figure out the cause of death, samples from the animal won’t be wasted, including sending the skull to the Museum of the North in Fairbanks.

“Some of the other bones are going to other researchers that request them for various reasons, same with pieces of muscles or other parts of the body,” Rouse said. “People look at all kinds of things in this population.”

After the necropsy was completed, Alaska Native community members worked with NOAA Fisheries to harvest blubber and other parts from the whale for subsistence and handicraft purposes, which federal law permits under the Marine Mammal Protection Act.

NOAA says the second whale spotted in Knik Arm was last seen Wednesday morning floating between Birchwood and Ship Creek and has not yet been recovered. The agency is asking anyone who spots it floating or washed ashore to call its 24-hour stranding hotline.

The third whale, found near Tyonek, was towed to a beach Tuesday afternoon. The Alaska Marine Mammal Stranding Network is now assessing that animal to determine next steps.

Cook Inlet beluga whales are listed as endangered under the Endangered Species Act, and the stranding network’s investigation is carried out under a federal permit.

NOAA is reminding the public that collecting tissue, teeth or any other parts from the whales is illegal for anyone other than Alaska Natives gathering parts for subsistence or handicraft use.

Anyone who sees a stranded, injured, entangled or dead marine mammal is asked to call NOAA Fisheries’ Alaska Statewide 24-hour Stranding Hotline at (877) 925-7773.

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