Young gray whale dies in south Puget Sound

Published 8:02 am Wednesday, April 7, 2010

OLYMPIA — A young gray whale that stranded and died Sunday at Oakland Bay in south Puget Sound appeared to be a yearling that was starving.

A Cascadia Research team examined the carcass Monday and a spokeswoman, Lisa Schlender, told The Olympian it was “really, really skinny.”

It also had scars on its fins from a killer whale attack.

It’s common for a few whales to stop in Puget Sound during their annual migration from breeding waters off Mexico to feeding waters off Alaska, and a couple usually die each spring.

Information from: The Olympian, www.theolympian.com