The humpback whale was first reported dead or stranded on Killisnoo Island on Feb. 10th, by Alaska Marine Highway System personnel, said Sadie Wright, a large whale entanglement response coordinator with National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s fisheries division. The animal with a long history in the area has been necropsied.

It is thought to be either an aborted fetus or a very young calf. The calf is one of six belugas that have been found dead this year, five in the last month.

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.