A deceased 25-foot grey whale washed ashore near the Huntington Beach Pier on Friday.
A 25-foot grey whale was found dead on the sand near Tower 7 at Huntington City Beach on Friday, drawing the attention of beachgoers and prompting an investigation into its cause of death. Grey whales are known for their extensive migrations along the Pacific Coast.
The adult female whale, weighing approximately 60,000 pounds, which is typical for the species, has been cordoned off by Huntington Beach Marine Safety while officials decide on the next steps. The Pacific Marine Mammal Center (PMMC) from Laguna Beach responded on Saturday morning and initiated a necropsy to determine the cause of death, according to PMMC CEO Glenn Gray.
The Huntington Beach Fire Department remained on-site Saturday, while city spokesperson Jennifer Carey confirmed that the whale would be buried on Sunday after receiving approval from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and PMMC.
This is a second whale trading incident in the locality after a rare minke whale was stranded in Long Beach's Rainbow Harbor last week. The marine mammal was euthanized on Tuesday, April 8, after becoming stuck in shallow waters near the Emeryville Marina in San Francisco Bay.
According to a post by the Marine Mammal Center on X, the whale had initially been swimming through the bay but became temporarily stuck in mud during low tide. Although it remained calm and later moved to deeper water, its situation worsened.
Eventually, the whale became trapped again on a mudflat and could not be rescued. The organization explained that the animal was in distress and had minimal chances of survival, leading to the difficult decision to humanely euthanize it.
And then there's this: 'A humpback whale swallowed a 20-year-old man while he was packrafting with his father in Águila Bay, Punta Arenas, Chile, then spat him out a few seconds later.' [Link] Must've left a bad taste in the whales' mouth...