‘How did it get there?’: Young Humpback whale dies after swimming up Nova Scotia’s Shubenacadie River

A sad ending for a whale is gaining a lot of attention across the Maritimes and online.

A young humpback was first spotted Monday in Nova Scotia’s Shubenacadie River by river rafting staff. At that time it was low tide and the whale was struggling.

“(I’ve been) rafting in this river for two decades now and we just don’t see stuff like this,” said Emmett Blois, owner of Shubie River Wranglers.

“At this point, the tide was kind of pushing it down the sandbar probably, maybe 15 minutes, the water came up high enough where it was able to start moving and floating again,” said Blois.

When the Marine Animal Response Society (MARS) was able to check in on the large mammal, it was barely surviving.

“Because of the size of the animal and where it was, all they could do was keep it calm, keep it cool, until the tide came back up,” said Tonya Wimmer with the MARS.

Despite their best efforts, the mammal ended up dying.

“It’s one of the biggest mammals on the earth in this tiny, tiny little river that you know, the water levels rise and drop two inches a minute,” said Blois.

People near the Shubenacadie River were stunned to see whale up close.

“We do a lot of fishing in the river for striped bass, so to see a whale in the river is a huge surprise,” said one local resident. “Like, think about how did it get there?”

Donna Mack shared this photo with CTV Atlantic of a whale with its belly up in Nova Scotia’s Shubenacadie River.

MARS believes food was the main reason the young whale ventured up the river.

“Humpbacks really are much further out in the Bay of Fundy… But sometimes it happens and sometimes they’re following food and if there’s a good fish run, they might just go in with it,” said Wimmer.

According to Wimmer, the whale is too heavy to move, but leaving it will cause other issues.

“The animal is there, it is going to smell, it is going to decompose and so there’s a lot of questions being asked about what can we do?” said Wimmer. “How do you move it and how do you get it out of there and so we’re a bit at the moment of mercy of nature in the sense of not being able to do much because of those constraints.

“So now it’s at Stewiacke and we’ve been talking with obviously the town there and continue the conversations with provinces and the federal authorities to say is there any way possible to get this animal out and it’s not possible at the moment because the mud where it is (is) extremely dangerous.”

Wimmer said the other concern with people approaching the mammal is that it is bloated and can explode.

“It normally does not happen unless you puncture it, so that’s another reason not to have people going up and poking trying to do anything the moment, unless you’re highly trained to do it because that can release gases quite suddenly and it’s not pleasant,” she said.

Earlier in the day Thursday, the N.S. RCMP said there were vehicles stopped on the shoulder of Highway 102 north in relation to the whale and delays should be expected.

“Nova Scotia RCMP encourages anyone driving through this area of Hwy 102 north to take into consideration the safety of all road users,” Cpl. Carlie McCann said in an email to CTV Atlantic.

“Maintain a safe distance between your vehicle and others ahead, and if there is a need to stop, pull over and ensure your vehicle is well off the road. Watch for pedestrians, and keep your eyes on the road and off the phone especially when other drivers around may be stopping, pulling over, or slowing unexpectedly.”

Last month, a stranded minke whale was able to swim to safety after getting stuck on a sandbar in the river.

To see more photos of the whale, click here.

For more Nova Scotia news visit our dedicated provincial page.