A dead gray whale was washed ashore on the Californian coast last week. It was discovered by a local family in the currently closed California state park.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration was called. However, due to the corona pandemic and the state’s stay-at-home order, only two researchers were allowed to assess the whale. Assessing the whale in its entirety was therefore “really difficult”, as it usually takes six to twelve people. Nevertheless, some information could be collected that “should prove useful in identifying other factors affecting the gray whale population.” The researchers assume that the 35-foot young male might have been dead for several days before being washed ashore. The cause of death itself is most probably going to stay inconclusive
Instead of being buried at the beach, the carcass was towed out to sea.
The full report can be found here: https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2020-05-06/dead-whale-ventura-county-beach
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