![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/67K4FCYIAJAF3NHE6EVXI7XZLI.jpg\")
Photographs of an injured humpback whale in Glacier Bay taken before and after the deep gash behind its dorsal fin occurred. (National Park Service photos by Janet Neilson, taken under the authority of Scientific Research Permit #27027 issued by NOAA Fisheries) <\/p>\n
Officials at Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve say a humpback whale suffered a severe injury after being hit by a boat. <\/p>\n
The park is asking the public for information on the circumstances surrounding the \u201capparent whale-vessel collision\u201d that occurred sometime in late June, according to a statement<\/a> issued Tuesday. <\/p>\n A biologist on June 27 documented the whale near Willoughby Island with a roughly 12-inch-deep gash behind its dorsal fin that appeared to be a fresh injury from contact with a vessel propeller, park officials said. The biologist said the whale, an adult of unknown sex sighted in Glacier Bay and Icy Strait since 2013, \u201cwas diving and appeared to be behaving normally,\u201d the statement said. <\/p>\n Park biologists are consulting with marine mammal experts to understand the whale\u2019s likelihood of survival with such a severe injury, officials said. <\/p>\n This isn\u2019t the first vessel strike of the year: Another biologist last week documented an adult female whale with a new shallow propeller wound behind her dorsal fin near Pleasant Island in Icy Strait, the statement said. <\/p>\n