Another dead whale has washed onto Bay Area shores, this time at Pacifica State Beach.
This is the 12th whale to wash ashore in the region this year.
The gray whale was first reported to The Marine Mammal Center at about 3 p.m. Friday. A center official confirmed that the whale was floating near the surf-line.
Due to the whale’s advanced state of decomposition, the center does not plan to perform a necropsy, officials said. The age and length of the whale, as well as the cause of death, are not known.
Center officials said the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration is working with local authorities to have the whale towed.
Malnutrition, entanglement and trauma from ship strikes have been the most common causes of death in whales studied by the center’s research team in recent years.
The public can report a dead whale or whale in distress by calling the center’s rescue hotline at 415-289-SEAL (7325).
Related
