Story | 24 Oct, 2009

Dead western gray whale found at Sakhalin

A western gray whale carcass was found washed ashore at Chaivo Bay, Sakhalin Island, by a local hunter in early September.

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Photo: Dave Weller

The hunter reported the finding to Exxon Neftegas and Sakhalin Energy in Chaivo, who alerted the Russian authorities. A team from Rosprirodnadzor, Exxon Neftegas and Sakhalin Energy visited the carcass the following week to collect samples, take photographs and measure the whale. The whale is reported to have been a male 10m in length. An external examination of the carcass revealed no clues as to the cause of death, but did not reveal indications of ship strikes. The whale was identified by comparing photographs of the carcass with the catalogs of known individuals from Sakhalin and Kamchatka.