Byrd Whale Dead in Puget Sound

Rare whale strands in Puget Sound

From the Cascadia Research site http://www.cascadiaresearch.org/Brydes%20stranding%20-%2019Jan%202010.htm

A highly unusual stranding of a tropical Bryde's whale occurred in southern Puget Sound this week and an examination was conducted by Cascadia Research, WDFW, and NOAA. The whale was first reported floating dead on Saturday, 16 January 2010 and temporarily came ashore a couple of locations in southern Puget Sound over the next couple of days. The whale was towed to a remote location (thanks to the help of Taylor Shellfish) and a detailed examination conducted on the afternoon of 19 January.

This species primarily uses warmer tropical waters and in the eastern North Pacific has not generally been seen north of southern California. It appears to have been in Puget Sound several weeks because there had been several puzzling sighting reports going back at least to the beginning of January of a live whale roughly meeting the description of this whale. This is the first confirmed sighting or stranding of this species in the Pacific Northwest that we are aware of.

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