Another dead whale washes up ashore in Bay Area, California making this the 7th whale in Sonoma county. (Photo : KRON4 News)
During the end of the gray whale migration season this month, another dead whale was washed up ashore on a beach in Bay Area, California.
The dead body of a gray whale was found, turned up along Portuguese beach in Sonoma County. The whale measures about 28 feet long which indicates that it is not yet a full grown adult and nobody knows the exact reason how it died.
During the month of May, gray whales end their migration period when they move from their breeding grounds near Mexico toward the north.
Earlier last week, a dead gray also washed up ashore in Half Moon Bay last Tuesday where Half Moon Bay State Beach Park officials also confirmed that the whale was found near Kelly Beach located in between St. Francis and Poplar.
This unfortunate gray whale is estimated to be almost 30 feet long which is also the sixth whale to show up dead on Northern California beaches in the last few months.
Local officials from Pacifica have already made some decisive action to dispose of decomposing bodies of the whales that were beached by burying both of them since locals are already complaining about the stench.
The whale in Pacifica was found just last May 4 which is also not far away from the 48 foot male sperm whale that also washed ashore on April 14 in Mori Point which is located at the southern part of the beach. Marine Mammal Center officials believe that this is purely coincidence as two whales were stranded on the same beach within weeks from each other.
Last month, a killer whale was also found in northern Fort Bragg where it also beached itself as researchers quickly came to the Mendocino coast to investigate this bizarre event. To date, scientists are still baffled as to why this 25 foot marine mammal came to the beach towards its death.
Apart from this, on April 24, two gray whale bodies were also seen washed up ashore on a Santa Cruz County beach. An adult gray whale measuring 40 feet was discovered near Waddell Beach where researchers believe that it did not indicate any evidence of a ship strike as it has been most likely dead for a few days when it was found.
The second one to be found was a young 23 foot whale at Pajaro Dunes where it was attacked a killer whale since it bore evidence of teeth marks from predators where it was missing its jaw and tongue. Scientists believe that this death has been caused by an orca attack.
To date, the center already responded to 21 humpback whales in the last 40 years that includes the famous Humphrey who was lost in San Francisco Bay between 1985 and 1990.
There is still no confirmation what caused the latest death of the beached whale found in Half Moon Bay.
