Necropsy ordered after 2nd grey whale washes up on B.C. beach

For the second time in a week, a dead whale has washed ashore in B.C.

For the second time in a week, a deceased grey whale has washed up on a B.C. beach, prompting a necropsy to determine the cause of death.

Fisheries and Oceans Canada said the latest whale was reported near the Haida Gwaii community of Skidegate on Sunday.

Images shared with CTV News show the animal’s carcass on the shore, with its tail pointed towards land, with no clear injuries visible.

The DFO’s Marine Mammal Response Team is working with local First Nations to co-ordinate a necropsy, the final results of which could take months to deliver, officials said.

Necropsies are performed on dead whales “where possible” in order to “further our understanding of the populations and the causes of death,” the DFO said, in an email statement.

The Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada has identified three distinct populations of grey whales in the North Pacific, two of which are endangered.

It’s currently unclear which of the three the whale discovered Sunday belonged to, officials said.

Last Tuesday, another grey whale carcass washed up on the shore of Pacific Rim National Park Reserve, near Tofino.

That whale was identified as a member of the Eastern North Pacific population, which was assessed in 2005 as being of special concern, but not endangered.

With files from CTV News Vancouver’s Todd Coyne