Hundreds of people got an unexpected eyeful on Saturday, when a cruise ship arrived at the Port of Vancouver with a dead whale lodged in its bow.
Some took pictures, while others just stood and stared.
The 16-metre fin whale was wedged between the bow and the hull of the Princess Cruise Lines' Sapphire Princess when it docked at the Canada Place terminal.
Fins are the second largest marine mammal after blue whales. Typically the species is extremely rare in local B.C. waters and likely would have been struck off the coast of northern B.C.
Craig Delahunt, who works for Tymac Launch Service at the port, says these type of spearings are incredibly rare. In fact, over a 20-year career at the port, he said such spearings have only occurred three times.
"Basically it's like a train coming through. It just hits them,'' he said. "That bow is like a spear. Once they're hit, it usually breaks their back, killing them almost instantly."
Fisheries & Oceans Canada is obligated under the Species at Risk Act to perform a necropsy to determine the cause of death.
The last whale impalement discovered in Vancouver was ten years ago. The carcass of that whale was taken north to Telegraph Cove, where it was put on display a whale watching centre.
With a report by CTV British Columbia's Peter Grainger
