Field notes: Farewell, Kayak the humpback whale
Fueled by curiosity, morbid fascination, and love for living creatures, I went to see where Kayak the humpback whale had come to rest.
Press play below if you’d like to hear the location while you read.
Kayak was an 18-year-old humpback known to researchers in British Columbia, Alaska, and Hawaii. Her name comes from the shape of the distinctive marking on her tail. Humpbacks can live to 80 years old, scientists think, and it is unclear what caused Kayak’s death. There might have been a collision with a vessel at sea, an illness, or something else. We may not be able to know for sure.
Kayak’s fin and the marking she is named after.
It’s amazing to me that cetologists (those who practice whalelore – a real word meaning the study of whales) identify and catalogue whales based on the shape of a fin or a birthmark. This practice points out that whales and other large mammals are rare and special, worthy of individual recognition and even naming. When a creature with a name dies, grief comes naturally.
There’s still a long way to go, but the beach is wide and the wind is light.
Kayak is located near the mouth of the Tlell River on East Beach, about 3 kilometres north of the Haida House in Tllaal Tlell. This is maybe a 30-minute walk from another memorial: the shipwreck of the Pesuta, a logging vessel from the early 20th century. On an overcast Monday afternoon, I made the trek, waving to others along the way in a kind of pilgrimage. Kayak was first spotted a few days earlier on this pleasant stretch of sand facing the Hecate Strait. Both ship and whale were prominent at the horizon as I got nearer.
As I walked, pausing to give the dog treats, Kayak’s body looming larger, I did feel a sense of loss, and also fascination.
Zappa the golden retriever and a friend she met on the beach.
Arriving sometime around low tide, I was surprised at how far up the beach she was. The ocean is strong, of course. It routinely throws who-knows-how-old Sitka spruce logs past the high tide mark. But this was something else entirely. Maybe 9 feet high and 40 feet long, Kayak lies on her back, with impressive, deep ridges running the length of her body. Her skin is black and thick like the rubber of a bicycle tire. Barnacles grow on her fins. There are clear markings from a necropsy taken from her left side.
It was an incredible, tragic sight, and I recommend going if you’re already on Haida Gwaii and able to visit soon.
If you want to learn more about Kayak and whalelore, here is a radio interview from CBC Daybreak North, or check out the Marine Education and Research Society on Facebook.
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