Humpback whale dies near Seattle ferry terminal

SEATTLE – A young humpback whale died in shallow water near a Seattle ferry terminal after volunteers and biologists worked to save the struggling animal.

John Calambokidis, a research biologist with Cascadia Research, who was working with NOAA Fisheries at the scene on a private beach just south of the ferry dock, told KING-TV that the whale was “very thin, what we call emaciated.”

Volunteers poured water over the struggling whale near the Fauntleroy Ferry Terminal and tried to shield it from the sun with large sheets. By 11 a.m. Sunday, however, it was clear the humpback would not survive.

Biologists spent hours measuring and examining the whale, while trying to figure out where they could conduct a necropsy and what to do with the carcass.