Humpback whale hit by Mukilteo ferry, Chip, is presumed dead
MUKILTEO — The humpback whale struck by a Washington state ferry on Monday has been tentatively identified as a 3-year-old named Chip.
Researchers based the findings on previous sightings and photos of the whale’s fluke, dorsal fin and pattern of tubercles on the whale’s head.
As of Thursday, the injured whale had not been sighted, alive or dead. The nature of the strike and his apparent injuries indicate it was fatal, experts said. The young whale’s adult traveling companion was later spotted alone off Whidbey Island’s north bluff.
Monday’s collision happened when the 362-foot ferry Tokitae was about three-quarters of a mile from the Mukilteo terminal during the 20-minute crossing from Clinton on Whidbey Island. Ian Sterling, a spokesman for Washington State Ferries, said the crew wasn’t aware the ferry hit the whale. In May 2019, a state ferry on the Seattle-Bainbridge Island route struck and killed a young humpback whale in Elliott Bay.
Video posted on Facebook by the Pacific Whale Watch Association of Monday’s incident shows the young whale in front of the Tokitae, taking a breath at the surface before vanishing. A photo taken when the whale surfaced shows a gash in its side.
https://www.heraldnet.com/news/no-sign-of-chip-the-whale-injured-by-collision-with-ferry/
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