Two of the killer whales stranded far from their Bristol Bay home in Alaska's freshwater Nushagak River have turned up dead, and biologists are searching for the third, according to a report from Reuters.
The whales, an anomaly due to the distance upriver -- nearly 30 miles -- they had come from their natural, saltwater habitat, were all believed alive as recently as Saturday before the two bodies turned up on Sunday, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Observers along the river reported the floating carcass of one whale and NOAA officials spotted the other dead whale on the river bank during a flyover of the area.
The whales are believed to have succumbed to the stresses of spending so long outside of their natural habitat, after more than three weeks farther upriver than biologists could ever recall orcas going. Reuters reports that necropsies are planned for the two deceased whales.
Meanwhile, the search is on for the third whale -- on Saturday, biologists were hopeful that the whales were on their way back toward saltwater and had been spotted heading downriver. If the third whale is spotted before its too late, officials may take steps in hopes of herding it further downriver back toward Bristol Bay. Read more, at Reuters.