Rare Fin Whale Found Dead on Remote Beach in British Columbia

Department of Fisheries and Oceans Marine Mammal Response Team members remove baleen from a dead fin whale as they perform a necropsy at Pender Harbour, B.C., in a March 20, 2022, handout photo. The Canadian Press/HO-DFO, Paul Cottrell

The body of a rare, young fin whale has been found on a remote beach on British Columbia’s south coast, says an official with the Fisheries Department.

Paul Cottrell, the department’s Pacific marine mammal co-ordinator, said initial examinations suggest the two-year-old whale was killed by blunt force trauma from a possible vessel strike on its right side.