A gray whale that had likely been dead for weeks washed up on an Orange County beach Thursday.
The decomposing carcass was found at Bolsa Chica State Beach in Huntington Beach, where officials told onlookers to stay away from the massive mammal.
“If you see a dead whale on the beach, give it some space. We don't always know why these things are on the beach,” said Justin Viezbicke, California coordinator for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Marine Mammal Health and Stranding Response Program.
Viezbicke said a stranded whale gives scientists a great opportunity to study the animal and learn, but the discovery of a gray whale is not unusual. Between ten and twelve end up stranded in California each year.
Gray whales, once known as “Devil Fish” for their aggressive response to whalers' harpoons, migrate annually from Alaska's cold Pacific waters to lagoons off the coast of Mexico. According to Viezbicke, about 15,000 gray whales pass through Southern California inactive on their annual sojourn.
A gray whale can grow up to 50 feet long. The one found Thursday appeared to be about 30 feet long, a witness told the Orange County Register.
A fin whale that washed up on Bolsa Chica State Beach nearly two years ago measured 65 feet.
