Dead Humpback Whale Found On Northern California Beach

The city officials have been making arrangements to remove the dead whale.

The carcass was reported at about 6:30 a.m. on the 400 block of Esplanade Drive, commonly referred to as Pacific Manor Beach, Interim Police Chief Daniel Steidle said in a statement.

Scientists from The Marine Mammal Center and The California Academy of Sciences arrived on the scene to perform a partial necropsy to try to determine cause of death and collect samples.

The initial findings from the necropsy revealed injuries that were consistent with blunt force trauma with evidence of hemorrhaging in muscles disarticulated bones. They continue by stating that it might have been inflicted by a ship strike. Since April, it is the third dead whale washed ashore in Pacifica.

In July this year, the carcass of a sperm whale was found on the beach near Mori Point.

Though this specific humpback whale met an unfortunate end on the California beach, Sherr says there have been many reports of live humpback whale sightings in the hundreds in the area, which bodes well for the whale population.

The ships near the Bay Area were instructed to slow down when passing through shipping lanes.

According to Greater Farallones National Marine Sanctuary superintendent Maria Brown, “By working with the maritime shipping industry, conservation groups, and others, we hope to minimize the outcomes of impacts from vessel-whale interactions”.