Fin whale, nearly 50 feet long, washes ashore on Anchorage tidal flats

A 47-foot fin whale washed ashore along Anchorage’s coastal trail over the weekend. Hundreds of people ventured out onto tidal flats Sunday to take a look at the carcass in the sun.

The first reports of the animal came to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration on Saturday before 10 p.m., said Barbara Mahoney, a NOAA biologist. On Sunday, Mahoney and other scientists examined the carcass, taking measurements, collecting skin samples and anchoring it down so they can continue their analysis on Monday.

“We don’t know what happened to it,” Mahoney said. “They follow food, but I am not sure what it was following this time of year.”

Fin whales, which are classified as endangered, migrate worldwide and summer as far up north as the Chukchi Sea. Mahoney said that the species can be found in lower Cook Inlet and are fairly uncommon in the Knik Arm, but at least a couple of them have washed up in Southcentral Alaska.

“We’ve had a few,” Mahoney said. “This is the first time I’ve had one on this beach.”

In 2016, a dead fin whale showed up in Seward on the bow of a cruise ship. In the summer of the same year, a 60-foot fin whale was stranded close to the Port of Anchorage and then was found dead in another spot on the upper Knik Arm. Scientists weren’t sure why that whale died.

Humpback whales have also washed ashore in the Anchorage area before, including on the beach at Kincaid Park in 2017.

On Sunday, a steady stream of bikers, skiers and families was trickling onto the mudflats just south of the Westchester Lagoon, next to Fish Creek, to take a closer look. Parents were talking to their children about different parts of the whale, teenagers were taking photos with it and video-calling their friends, dogs were sniffing the mud all around the carcass.

“It’s pretty amazing that it’s right here in Anchorage, and also just disturbing, sad,” said Michael Shepard who was skiing nearby.

“We had to come over and look,” said Stephanie O’Connor who was taking a walk on the trail. She wondered about why and when the animal died.

“Hopefully, it won’t happen too much more,” O’Connor said.

The biologists, equipped with ropes, anchors and other tools in a small sled, evaluated an animal that looked like a female to them.

While adult fin whales usually reach around 70 feet in length, this whale was only 47 feet, and Mahoney suggested it might have been not a full adult.

Looking at the scratches on its skin, Mahoney said the whale might have been poked by birds after it washed ashore.

After measuring the whale, scientists cut several pieces of blubber from the animal’s back. The belly was frozen, and it was unclear if it would be possible to conduct a necropsy on Monday, Mahoney said.

The biologists anchored the whale to the ground by its fluke, planning to untie it on Monday and let the tide carry it away, Mahoney said.

The high tide on Saturday reached over 32 feet and is forecast to gradually recede, according to the data from NOAA.

To report a dead whale on shore, residents can call NOAA at (877) 925-7773.