On April 11th, a remarkable but sorrowful sight bestowed upon visitors at Huntington Beach, CA. Passerbys witnessed a whale being washed up at around 2:30 p.m. Gray whales are not recognized as an endangered species, so the death came as a surprise to many witnesses. Though it is not an unseen thing to happen, it occurring without an obvious cause is making many scientists try to see any factors that might cause this. Most of the mammals’ death is a mystery, however some information is known.
About the whale:
Only around 50 feet, the creature was seen as small, possibly even younger than the average whale adult. Although small in size, the whale was estimated to be around 60,000 pounds. The Gray whale was identified as a female by experts that responded to the scene. The whale’s appearance lacked any physical attributes that suggested it was involved in a violent altercation.
The whale was dead at the time it was spotted, Her body, found by tower 7. While the cause is unknown, it was most likely not in any accidents due to the lack of visible injuries. Currently, experts are stumped on what could have caused her death due to lack of obvious signs/symptoms.
What was done with the body?
After the Marine Mammal Center responded to the scene, a proper burial started for the mammal. Surprisingly, the animal was buried on the beach itself. A tractor was brought to Huntington Beach, which proceeded to dig a hole and gently coax the whale’s body into it.
Why is this significant?
As of late, multiple sea animals have been washed ashore after passing away. In the past week and a half, four whales have been spotted to have been floating in the shallow end, deceased. While those casualties happened in San Francisco Bay, many more have happened spread wide across the globe. More than 2,000 whales and dolphins are washed up annually. However, many more have started to appear, especially gray whales. This is concerning to experts since the causes of death are unknown ( whether it is an infection, poison, etc).
