A dead adult beluga whale was pulled onto a small boat launch near downtown Anchorage Tuesday after it was spotted floating in the water.
NOAA Fisheries marine biologists are conducting a necropsy on the 11-foot whale to determine its cause of death.
"It was actually seen floating yesterday, deceased, and so now there'll be an investigation into what it potentially died of and that starts with a gross necropsy," said Verena Gill, NOAA Fisheries supervisory biologist.
Onlookers watched Tuesday afternoon as marine biologists cut into the whale at Ship Creek Small Boat Launch. The smell of ocean and blubber permeated the air.
Gill said a civilian had towed the body of the whale onto the boat launch.
Meanwhile, another beluga whale was reported dead Monday in the Knik Arm, Gill said. It had not washed ashore by Tuesday afternoon.
Cook Inlet belugas are endangered, Gill said, but it's not alarming to have a dead whale come ashore. Generally eight to 15 Cook Inlet belugas are found deceased each year. So far this year, Gill said 10 dead beluga whales have been reported.
Alfonso Gomez watched from a nearby dock as parts of the whale were put into coolers. He's from Texas and works with the nearby railroad during the summer. He has never seen a beluga whale before.
"I mean, I was invited to get on boats and stuff and go whale sightseeing, but no, I never have," Gomez said. "And it sucks, this is the way I get to see it."
Gill said that the public can help by reporting stranded beluga whales, dead or alive, to NOAA Fisheries.
"It's a big inlet, and there's just a few of us, and there's a lot of people out there, especially duck hunting right now, or moose hunting," Gill said. "So if they see something, then that's fantastic."
The whale will be towed back out into Cook Inlet once the necropsy is complete.
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