Investigation clears Canadian navy exercises in Washington state whale death

VANCOUVER – The Canadian navy has been cleared in the death of a killer whale that washed up in Washington state two years ago.

The whale’s bloodied and bruised carcass washed up just north of Long Beach, Wash.

There was speculation that navy activity could have killed the orca, and the Canadian Navy was conducting sonar and small underwater explosive activity off southern Vancouver Island over several days about a week before the whale washed ashore.

But a team of veterinarians and biologists that investigated the whale’s death have ruled out the naval activity, saying the whale did not die in Canadian waters.

A report released this week by U.S. authorities says the whale was killed by blunt trauma to its head, but the cause of those injuries could not be determined.

The juvenile female, known as L-112, was a member of an endangered orca pod resident in Puget Sound.