Whale carcass on WA beach desecrated by carvings into skin

Added: 2026-05-20

[00:00:00]People are coming from as far as Seattle to see one of the most recently stranded gray whales. Rangers have taped it off and tied it down after discovering initials carved into its body. That blubber's got to be what, 4 in thick?

[00:00:15]>> AW + KO, those are the letters left on the side of a gray whale about a day after it washed ashore near Oak Harbor, a violation of the federal Marine Mammal Protection Act.

[00:00:28]>> That's unconscionable.

[00:00:29]>> Creatures in nature, you shouldn't mess with them, especially if they are dead.

[00:00:32]>> Why would you carve on a tree? Why would you carve on an animal?

[00:00:36]>> Unless we have evidence of who did it, you know, more detail, when it happened, etc., etc. It's a very hard to, you know, prosecute. Beach residents called Gary Heinrich when it washed ashore last week. When he and a group of experts went to carry out an necropsy, they discovered the markings in the whale's skin. I don't want to say it's as tough as a tire on an automobile, but it it took some effort depending on what kind of tool they used. A disturbing sign on a dwindling species that Heinrich has never seen before.

[00:01:06]>> Not to where this was just to me blatant desecration.

[00:01:11]>> Heinrich says witnesses later reported people trying to cut baleen from the same whale's mouth. Photos, witnesses, and a time frame have been turned over to state and county investigators. The federal Marine Mammal Protection Act protects marine species from harassment and disturbances even after death.

[00:01:30]Violations can carry penalties up to $10,000 and up to 5 years in prison. Gray whales aren't endangered, but their population has fallen to about 13,000. We're seeing whales in the Bay Area as well that are washing up emaciated and skinny. Researchers are worried the strandings aren't over. 21 gray whales have washed up on Washington shores so far this year. Scientists believe warming Arctic waters and disruptions to the food chain are preventing whales from getting enough food to sustain their migration.

[00:02:04]>> This is a warning sign that something bigger is going to happen if we don't people just don't wake up.

[00:02:11]Gray whales can weigh up to as much as 40 tons. State Parks plans to let this one decompose before putting it on display.

[00:02:19]In Oak Harbor, Alex McClean, King 5 News.