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Watch heartbreaking footage of humpback whale with missing tail in Washington state

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A whale whose tail appears to have been torn off by fishing debris has been spotted off the coast of Washington state. While the whale is managing to adapt right now, it will likely die from exhaustion and starvation soon, experts say.

Aerial drone footage shows the humpback whale (Megaptera novaeangliae) missing its iconic lobed fluke, which is responsible for propulsion while swimming.

"It's very disturbing," Jessica Farrer, lead responder and research director at The Whale Museum in Friday Harbor, told Live Science. "It's such a big majestic animal and it's missing a very important part of its body and on some level we know that we are the ones — humans that is — that caused it."

Severed humpback whale tail breaching.

The humpback whale revealed its missing tail after attempting to use its peduncle (the muscle connecting the tail) to dive. (Image credit: Photographed by Spencer Fire/The Whale Museum)

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The whale likely lost its tail fluke because of long-term entanglement in fishing lines or other debris.

"Their flukes are massive and our oceans are full of lines so it's not uncommon at all for humpbacks to pick up line and trail with it," Farrer said.

The whale, which has been named Catalyst, was first seen on July 5 on the east side of Swindle Island, then again on July 10 near Campbell River, according to a Facebook post from San Juan County Marine Mammal Stranding Network — a program run by The Whale Museum.

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