Experts To Study Body Of Large Killer Whale That Washed Ashore In B.C.

Thursday, April 2, 2009
VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA — Killer whale experts are taking advantage of a rare opportunity to study the body of a large, male orca.

The carcass washed up this week near Telegraph Cove, on the northeast side of Vancouver Island.

John Ford, with the Department of Fisheries, says it's a rare event and the first time they've been able to study a transient killer whale in decades.

Ford says the dead whale is one he first identified as a calf back in 1976 and called T-44.

A necropsy didn't determine the cause of death, but Ford says the whales only live about 30 years.

He says they'll do further studies on what was in the whale's stomach and contaminant levels in its tissue.

Source: The Canadian Press