ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) -- Federal wildlife officials are investigating the death of a humpback whale carried into an Alaska port on the bow of a cruise ship.
Authorities said Wednesday they found the whale on the submerged, bulbous bow of the Grand Princess after it entered the harbor in Ketchikan, near the southern tip of the Alaska Panhandle.
Princess Cruises spokesman Brian O'Connor says the discovery was a surprise.
He says no one on board felt an impact and no whales were seen close to the ship by navigators as it sailed overnight to Ketchikan.
O'Connor says it's not known whether the whale was alive or dead when it became lodged on the bow.
A tugboat towed the carcass away from the harbor for a necropsy.
