SHELTON, Wash. - A whale that may have been wounded in a collision with a vessel has washed up dead on a beach in Washington state.
John Calambokidis of Cascadia Research says the whale found in the Totten Inlet area of South Puget Sound was a Bryde's (BROO'-des) whale. The primarily tropical species rarely shows up in Puget Sound, but this is the second one to turn up dead in the area this year, and researchers aren't sure what it was doing here.
The badly injured whale was first spotted in November, missing large chunks of flesh and blubber.
Calambokidis said Saturday that at least one of the whale's injuries seems to have come from a boat propeller, and it's possible all of them did.
Scientists hope to move the carcass to another location where they can perform an examination Monday.