Group scrambles to bring 30-tonne dead humpback whale to Halifax shore

The Marine Animal Response Society is struggling to find ways to bring a 30-tonne humpback whale to shore in Halifax for a necropsy to learn how the animal died.

The group learned of the floating whale on Thursday evening, which was last seen near Lawlor Island in Eastern Passage, N.S.

However, recovery efforts are being hamperedby the whale's sizeand the makeup of Halifax harbour, said Tonya Wimmer, the executive director of MARS.

She said it is difficult to bring heavy equipment to the harbour that's large enough to pick up the over eight-metre long whale, which is neither a full-grown adult nor a baby.

"Usually in other places, the animal either comes ashore, or we're able to bring it ashore to like a local beach or maybe a more isolated area where we can still get some heavy equipment in there because they're big," said Wimmer.

On Friday, MARS, with the help of Fisheries and Oceans Canada, tried to get the whale to shore.

"The tricky thing on Friday was to figure out where could we even take it, that we could also have access with equipment," said Wimmer.

She said conducting necropsies is critical because they help peopleunderstand when human activities are playing a role in the harm or death of animals.

She said ocean animals have been entangled in gear or struck by vessels in the past. Some have also been very thin, indicating they're not getting enough to eat.

"For these animals, anything beyond a natural cause of death is concerning because usually, that points to some of the things we might be doing in the ocean. And this isn't, you know, just a humpback whale isolated type of thing," said Wimmer.

The organization is asking the public to report any sightings of the whale to their hotline at 1-866-567-6277.