The body of a 40-foot-long adult female gray whale beached on Ebey’s Landing Monday — her pale figure a stark contrast against the deep blue and green-colored sea.
The beached whale’s corpse shifted along with the crashing waves. She had dents and holes on her tail and appeared to have a broken jaw, with blood seeping out from her mouth. The cause of her death is still unknown. Samples of the whale were taken Monday afternoon by the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife to be analyzed.
The Orca Network, a Whidbey-based nonprofit group, has not received any reports of a ship collision or another cause of the whale’s death.
The whale was not one of the Sounders, which are a group of gray whales that regularly visit the northern Puget Sound region during migration.
According to the Orca Network’s records, she was first reported dead floating north of Kingston last Thursday. Co-Founder and Board President Howard Garrett speculated it could be the same whale that was seen alive July 3 in Elliott Bay.
It is not a rare occurrence for a whale to be spotted alone. Gray whales tend to be solo most of the time, except for mothers with calves and occasional pairs, Garrett explained.
Marcy Neal with the group Whidbey Island Whale Sightings was on scene to examine the beached whale. On the phone was Kevin Phillips, another member of the group.
Though the cause of death is still unknown, Philips advised people to be whale-wise.
“This whale could have been hit by a boat. It could have been hit by a ship in the night. We don’t know that,” Phillips said. “You know, if you’re on the water, watch what you’re doing. Whales do sleep at the top of the water: it’s called logging. They look like big logs in the water.”
Judy Cooper, who has regularly visited Ebey’s Landing for the last 40 years, was an onlooker at the beach Monday.
“This makes me feel really bad. It smells really bad, too, but it makes me feel really bad. I love whales,” Cooper said.
Another Whidbey local Rick Heinz shared a similar sentiment of sadness. The Freeland resident drove up to the site to pay his respects to the beached whale.
“I have never seen this before and hope to never see it again,” Heinz said. “I’m wishing it a good crossing.”
Erin Howard, who lives near Ebey’s Landing, brought her kids to see the whale as a teaching moment.
“I thought it would be an important experience for them to see the realities of what can happen to a whale out in the ocean and this area,” she said.
While many have already seen the ghostly corpse of the gray whale, Garrett warned that tampering with this giant marine mammal is a violation of federal law.
(Photo provided by Yolanda Rosales) “We as humans can do better as stewards of the planet,” Rosales said after seeing the dead whale.
(Photo by Marina Blatt) The whale was battered by waves, giving her corpse almost life-like movements.
(Photo by Marina Blatt) The dead whale rested in front of the picturesque Ebey’s Landing.
(Photo by Marina Blatt) A crowd formed to look at the whale.
(Photo by Marina Blatt) The whale was bleeding from her mouth.
(Photo provided by Yolanda Rosales) Rosales said that witnessing the whale in person was “life-changing.”
