A dead North Atlantic right whale has successfully been towed by the Canadian Coast Guard vessel CCGS A. LeBlanc toward Miscou Island, N.B., on Friday.
The whale, identified as Wolverine, has been brought ashore where an expert team from six different departments and organizations, including Atlantic Veterinary College and Fisheries and Oceans Canada, has been assembled with the necropsy still underway.
The team hopes the necropsy will help them determine cause of death. Once that’s done, the plan is to bury the carcass on the beach, according to a statement from Fisheries, Oceans and the Canadian Coast Guard.
READ MORE: Endangered dead right whale known as ‘Wolverine’ reported drifting in Gulf of St. Lawrence
Wolverine was first sighted by researchers at New England Aquarium in 2010, and listed in the aquarium’s right whale catalog.
According to the aquarium, with a population estimated at around 411, the endangered North Atlantic right whale has historically struggled due to lethal vessel strikes and entanglements throughout their range, but now the effects of climate change also put the whales further at risk.