Dead humpback whale floating in Knik Arm for almost a week

WASILLA — A dead humpback whale floating in Knik Arm appears to be headed toward Cook Inlet with the tide after being spotted as far east as the Knik River Bridge this week.

Reports on the whale — a male humpback — to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration have been coming in daily since Saturday, according to NOAA Fisheries spokesperson Julie Speegle in Juneau.

“We have gotten quite a bit of communication on the whale,” Speegle said, adding that a crew from Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson boated out to the whale Monday to collect skin and blubber samples. The cause of death was unknown, Speegle said.

“The JBER crew also attached an orange buoy to the whale’s flipper to mark it so we know it’s the same whale if we continue to get reports,” Speegle said.

Speegle said the whale was last spotted in the Point MacKenzie area. Crews didn’t determine a length on the mammal — only that is was a male, she added.

“It has been going back and forth with the tide,” she said, adding that the carcass should be avoided either in the water or if it should end up on shore.

“We do want to remind people not to approach the whale,” Speegle said.