No necropsy for dead humpback whale in Nova Scotia: Fisheries Department
HARBOURVIEW, N.S. — A full post-mortem examination will not be performed on a humpback whale that washed ashore on the Bay of Fundy near Harbourville, N.S, the Fisheries Department said Wednesday.
The Marine Animal Response Society said it received a report on Sunday that the carcass had washed up on a rocky beach.
Andrew Reid, the society’s response co-ordinator, said the 13.7-metre whale is likely a young adult male and died several days prior, but that there were no signs of recent entanglements or gashes from ship strikes.
“It did appear quite thin, so it may have been suffering from a long-term sickness or injury that would have been preventing it from feeding properly,” said Reid in an interview. “It probably wasn’t an acute death.”