The exact species is not known. Part of the carcass has ballooned with gas, a common occurrence with beached whales.
A pilot first spotted the whale last week. What caused the whale’s death isn’t yet known.
It’s rare to see humpbacks in Turnagain Arm, known for its swift tides and shallow waters.
The whale is located in an inaccessible place where scientists are unable to take a necropsy.
The species has been spotted in the Inside Passage before. But sightings are infrequent. A whale found recently near Juneau is thought to have died from a vessel strike.
Ocean scientists are concerned about dead gray whales that have washed up on the US West Coast this year at the highest rate in almost two decades.
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