Grey Whale Stranding Response

Orignal posting:
April 30, 2009

Well I made it out there yesterday around 2 pm. What a sight. It was a juvinielle male gray whale estimated at 2 years old and somewhere around 10,000 pounds!

Carley was out working as the coordinator on this stranding and she was able to contact the Andrew Foss of Foss ships and recruited them to pull the carcass off of the beach for us and coordinated with the county to bring out a crew and a small boat to run line to and from the Andrew Foss.

Thanks Rhonnie! She loaned me her cell phone to take out to the site as mine was dead and my charger is in the car in Goldbar! Good thing too, as this phone became our only contact phone at the site.

The crew from the Andrew Foss came ashore and evaluated the situation and said they would be happy to help, provided we had a strong enough line for towing. We did not and so one of the crew suggested we contact Samson Rope in Ferndale for a donation to the Whatcom Marine Mammal Stranding Network.

I got on the phone with Charolette at Sampson and she worked so hard to find us some suitable line in the 2000 feet that we were looking for. She and the warehouse manager worked in tandem on this for over an hour and many phone calls from me but unfortunately couldn't find anything in that length and strength.

I made a new request for any 2 lines that we could splice and they went through the whole process again and came up with a wonderful donation. Then they even let us come after hours for pick up!!! Thanks to Joe in shipping and the warehouse manager (sorry, but don't remember his name)!

One of our volunteers , Bill, went into to pick up the line and when he returned we tied up the gray. I even got to make cut through the body to form a notch for the tow line to be attached.

If you would have told me yesterday morning that by evening I'd be cutting through the blubber of a whale I'd have thought you were crazy! But sure enough that was what I did. It was interesting and very cool!. The whale blubber is very greasy and thick!

Once the line was secure, we cleared the beach of onlookers for their safety. We had them move back where they could still see, but wouldn't be in harms way if something went wrong.

The county crew ran a line out to the Andrew Foss and then the tug pulled the carcass off the beach. Thank goodness it stayed in one peace and floated! They transported it down the beach to our tie off location and 5 of us volunteers walked down the beach and met them. Then the county brought in the line and we secured the carcass to the beach keeping the body below the low tide line. Where it will wait for a crew from the Friday Harbor Whale Museum to pick it up and bring it to their location. What they are doing with it I am not sure.

Once we had it secure we walked back the 1/2 mile of beach to our cars and made it after sunset, but before total darkness.

Now you can see what a coordinated effort this can be and that was just day 3! So many volunteers were needed for each phase of this.

The Whatcom Marine Mammal Stranding Network is such a fantastic organization. Anything we can do to support them makes such a difference! If you want to get involved as a volunteer or want to help support them financially, the website is http://www.wmmsn.org/

Remember if you see a stranded marine mammal whether dead or alive, you must by law stay back 100 feet. Then please contact the local marine mammal stranding network. They will come and evaluate the animal, dead or alive and they gather data that is used by scientists and researchers world wide.

I'm so happy to be a small part of this organization and consider myself really blessed to be able to help make a difference in the world.

Having a porpoise in life

Original posting
Friday, September 4, 2009


I live on an island in the Puget Sound and enjoy a close connection with wildlife and nature even here in my own back yard.One of my passions in life is marine conservation. The oceans and the life within them are so important to our lives here on land.

Early this year I began to volunteer with a local group the Whatcom Marine Mammal Standing Network (http://www.wmmsn.org/ ) Through my association with this group I've been able to take part in several very interesting interactions with marine mammals, some alive, others found dead at the beach.

About a month ago we had a stranded seal pup here on the island. I got to go and observe this cute little creature. After 2 days of observation the pup was taken to a local rehab facility where he will be cared for until he is able to fend for himself. Hopefully he will be released back into the wild this fall. This stranding call had a happy ending, but that's not always the case.

Most recently we had a call for a small harbor porpoise that had died and washed ashore at the NW side of Lummi Island. It was collected by a volunteer and brought in to be examined to determine the cause of it's death. A lot of information can be gathered from a deceased marine mammal that has washed ashore.

Members of our group who were interested were invited to observe and participate in the necropsy which took place yesterday. I was able to attend. WOW! I learned so much.

Back in my younger days I was quite squeemish about death and so even back in high school I opted out of biology to avoid having to do any kind of disections. These days, I find I'm not squeemish and more curious to learn about this sort of thing.

It was very interesting to see how this process works. The carcass was methodically examined, measured and recorded. Samples were taken for various researchers who are gathering data related to marine mammals and our environment.

As the porpoise was examined I was able to see, touch and learn about the anatomy of harbor porpoises. I have a very hands on learning style so this was ideal for me. I won't go into graphic detail because I know others may not care to hear about a scientific necropsy.

Through this examination it was determined that this young female most likely died due to an acute trauma, likely a boat strike. She had hematoma on her right side and showed some damage to the lung on that side as well as 2 broken ribs.

It's amazing what scientists are able to see and learn based on these type of exams. Because of a thick blubber layer on marine mammals, there is often no outward sign of an injury. The only effective way to find out about an injury like this is to thouroughly examine the animal through a necropsy. Often though even after a necropsy, no difinite cause of death can be determined.

I'm really glad that I'm able to participate with this group and expand my own knowledge base as well as help with recording information that is used by scientists around the world who are studying marine mammals and our environment.

Groups like ours are small non profits who together gather information related to marine mammals all over the world. If you are interested in helping with this cause, check your local Stranding Network for volunteer opportunities. Or support them through donations. For more information on the Whatcom Marine Mammal Stranding network, head over to the website http://www.wmmsn.org/