'Heartbreaking' photos released of humpback whale's tail severed off British Columbia coast

WARNING: This story contains images which may be disturbing to some readers. View with discretion.

Conservationists say heartbreaking images of a humpback whale whose tail was severed off the coast of British Columbia should serve as a wake-up call.

The whale was spotted twice earlier this month, once near Klemtu and once near Green Point Rapids, north of Campbell River.

A humpback whale with its tail severed swims near Green Point Rapids, north of Campbell River, on July 10. Photo by Anne McKinnell.

Campbell River Whale Watching co-founder Tyler Bruce said the group was out at sea on July 10 when they spotted the whale struggling to swim against the current.

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“It wasn't until the whale started to make noise that we actually saw the back part of the whale and part of its tail was missing and then we heard a huge howl of disbelief,” he said.

“A pretty big part of the whale was missing. It was quite a shock.”

A humpback whale with its tail severed swims near Green Point Rapids, north of Campbell River, on July 10. Photo by Steven Garbrish.

Bruce forwarded images of the injured whale to the Canadian Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO), who offered a dire outlook.

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“It was tragic, it was horrific … to be honest we were very surprised the animal was still alive,” said Paul Cottrell of DFO's Marine Mammal Rescue Team.

Cotterell said that without a fluke, a whale's ability to navigate and find food would be severely impaired.

They will also likely not be able to migrate the long distances that humpback whales do, and are already showing signs of weakness.

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“The long-term prognosis for this animal is not good and unfortunately a necropsy will likely be required in the near future,” Cottrell said.

Researchers have been unable to identify the whale because it has a distinctive pattern on its tail that humans can usually spot.

1:53 Humpback whale found entangled in fishing net near Campbell River

Jackie Hildering, a humpback whale researcher at the Marine Education and Research Association, believes the whale's tail was lost after becoming entangled in fishing gear, based on visible scarring.

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She said she hoped the “heartbreaking” images of the animals' injuries would help people better understand the dangers they face.

For this reason, the researchers nicknamed the whale “Catalyst.”

“A catalyst for change, a catalyst for awareness … a catalyst for education,” Hildering said.

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“Catalyst is probably going to die, which is one of the reasons we want to count this.”

The return of humpback whales to British Columbia waters has given the species a second chance, Hildering said.

But this resurgence also increases the risk of fatal interactions between humans and humpback whales due to collisions with ships or entanglement in so-called “ghost gear.”

1:57 UBC survey finds eight humpback whales entangled in whale farm over 13 years

Hildering said tracking the whales' health and population remains difficult given the coast's size and solitary nature, and he believes the majority of entanglement deaths go unrecorded.

“It's a conservative estimate, and we're still compiling the data, but it appears that about 50 percent of humpback whales photographed on shore have been entangled at least once,” she said.

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“And how many died?”

She said the incident highlighted the need to give whales more space and crack down on lost fishing gear, as well as the importance of boaters keeping an eye out for imperiled whales.

Anyone who sees entangled marine animals can report it to Fisheries and Oceans Canada's response team at 1-800-465-4336.

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