A young humpback whale that died, presumably, after it became trapped in a commercial mussel-farming line off Long Beach, Ca., has washed ashore in Huntington Beach.
On Friday, Planet Whale shared footage of the bloated whale carcass on the surface, with a weighted rope wound around its tail section. The whale measured 15 to 20 feet, making it a calf or juvenile. (Footage is posted below.)
“When I saw that rope I got MAD. In the last few years the number of entangled whales I’ve seen with my own eyes has hit double digits,” wrote Erica Page of Planet Whale. “And we frequently see whales with evidence of prior entanglement. THIS IS NOT OKAY!”
On Saturday, images surfaced showing the whale carcass rolling in the surf at Huntington Beach.
The image atop this post was shared to Facebook by Keith Wehner, who wrote: “Something I haven’t seen before. If you aren’t doing anything later, removing it may be interesting to watch. South of the pier at Tower 3.”
Alisa Schulman-Janiger, a whale researcher, confirmed to ForTheWin Outdoors that the whale on the beach is the same whale that had become entangled. It’s unclear how the whale became free of the rope that had been holding it in place at the mussel farm.
Scientists were hoping to perform a necropsy on the whale before a storm arrived. After that, perhaps the carcass will be towed offshore to become sustenance for marine animals.
Justin Viezbicke, California Stranding Coordinator for NOAA, had not responded to an inquiry about the carcass at the time of this post.