Humpback whale found pinned to front of Princess Cruise ship

USA TODAY -- The Anchorage Daily News is reporting a dead humpback whale was found pinned to the front of a Princess Cruises ship in Alaska on Wednesday.

The news outlet says what appears to be a juvenile of the species was found atop the 2,670-passenger Sapphire Princess' bulbous bow early in the day as the vessel sailed south of Juneau.

The ship's voyage was delayed for several hours while state officials removed the animal, and federal authorities now are looking into the cause of its death, the Daily News adds.
Documented instances of cruise ships hitting whales are relatively rare.

The last such occurrence, almost exactly a year ago, also took place in Alaska and involved the same ship, the Sapphire Princess. In that case, a necropsy determined the dead animal -- a rare fin whale -- already was sick or dead before it was hit by the ship.