{"id":508209,"date":"2026-06-24T02:43:08","date_gmt":"2026-06-24T02:43:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/508209\/"},"modified":"2026-06-24T02:43:08","modified_gmt":"2026-06-24T02:43:08","slug":"endangered-fin-whale-found-dead-on-cruise-ships-bow-in-alaska","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/508209\/","title":{"rendered":"Endangered fin whale found dead on cruise ship&#8217;s bow in Alaska"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"subheadline\">Officials are investigating how the 61-foot fin whale, later found to be pregnant, ended up on the vessel before it docked in Seward.<\/p>\n<p class=\"byline\">\n\t\t\t\t\tBy<br \/>\n\t\t\t\tChloe Bland, AccuWeather, editorial intern\t\t<\/p>\n<p>Published Jun 23, 2026 8:52 AM EDT\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t|<\/p>\n<p>Updated Jun 23, 2026 8:52 AM EDT\n\t\t<\/p>\n<p class=\"feature-tag\">\n\t\tA reported 157 false killer whales were found stranded on a remote beach in Tasmania, Australia. Officials made the decision to euthanize them after bad weather and rough ocean conditions made it impossible to refloat them.\n\t<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph-block content-module\">\n\tA dead fin whale was found\u00a0on a\u00a0cruise\u00a0ship as it docked in\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.accuweather.com\/en\/us\/seward\/99664\/weather-forecast\/336746\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\">Seward, Alaska<\/a>,\u00a0on Friday, according to wildlife officials.\n<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph-block content-module\">\n\tAccording to the\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/NOAAFisheriesAK\/posts\/pfbid02z2EVxoaapvF3H3dW5xr4r52FrkHMn8kwNoHnPD6uaapkzfxtbAeFoKfXa9fmwRJfl\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\">National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Fisheries\u00a0Alaska<\/a>,\u00a0the 61-foot, adult female whale was discovered \u201con top of the ship\u2019s bulbous bow\u201d after the vessel arrived at the dock.\u00a0\u00a0\n<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph-block content-module\">\n\tA\u00a0local company towed the whale to a nearby beach, where NOAA and\u00a0the\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/AlaskaSeaLifeCenter\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\">Alaska SeaLife Center<\/a>\u00a0are performing a necropsy, or animal\u00a0autopsy, to determine the cause of death.\u00a0Initial findings show that the fin whale was pregnant.\u00a0\n<\/p>\n<p class=\"feature-tag\">\n\tA dead fin whale was found on top of a cruise ship that had docked in Steward on Friday, June 19. (Image credit: Kaiti Grant\/Alaska SeaLife Center, MMPA\/ESA Permit #24359)\n<\/p>\n<p>Images credit: Kaiti Grant\/Alaska SeaLife Center, MMPA\/ESA Permit #24359<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph-block content-module\">\n\tNOAA\u00a0advised people to\u00a0stay off the beach and avoid the site as experts investigate and collect samples.\u00a0\u00a0\n<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph-block content-module\">\n\tThe NOAA Fisheries Office of Law Enforcement is also investigating the incident, and anyone with information is urged to contact the 24-hour enforcement hotline.\u00a0\n<\/p>\n<p class=\"feature-tag\">\n\tA dead fin whale was found on top of a cruise ship that had docked in Steward on Friday, June 19. (Image credit: Kaiti Grant\/Alaska SeaLife Center, MMPA\/ESA Permit #24359)\n<\/p>\n<p>Images credit: Kaiti Grant\/Alaska SeaLife Center, MMPA\/ESA Permit #24359<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph-block content-module\">\n\tAccording to\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.fisheries.noaa.gov\/species\/fin-whale\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\">NOAA<\/a>, fin whales are listed as endangered under the Endangered Species Act.\u00a0They are the second-largest whale species on Earth, and their name comes from a prominent fin\u00a0on their back, near their tail.\u00a0\n<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph-block content-module\">\n\tThe biggest threat to fin whales is\u00a0ship\u00a0strikes, NOAA experts say. This species\u00a0is\u00a0likely the\u00a0most vulnerable to these incidents after the North Atlantic Right Whale.\u00a0\u00a0\n<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph-block content-module\">\n\tNOAA leaders emphasize the importance of protecting these endangered whales.\u00a0\n<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph-block content-module\">\n\t\u201cWe remind the public that it is illegal for anyone to collect tissue, baleen or any part of the whale, unless you are an Alaska Native collecting tissue or parts for subsistence or use in handicrafts,\u201d NOAA Fisheries Alaska said.\u00a0\n<\/p>\n<p>\t\t<a class=\"typo\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.accuweather.com\/en\/contact\/?type=typo\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Report a Typo<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Officials are investigating how the 61-foot fin whale, later found to be pregnant, ended up on the vessel&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":493151,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[22],"tags":[242,85,46,141],"class_list":["post-508209","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-environment","tag-environment","tag-il","tag-israel","tag-science"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/508209","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=508209"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/508209\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/493151"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=508209"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=508209"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=508209"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}