Fifty-foot sperm whale washes up on shore south of San Francisco

Decomposing carcass of 50-foot mammal examined by biologists to determine how it died as boaters warned to steer clear of whales

The Guardian, Wednesday 15 April 2015

A 50ft beached sperm whale in Pacifica, California, on Wednesday. The animal is one

of 17 dead sperm whales to beach along the north coast of California over the last 

40 years Associated Press in Pacifica, California

Biologists and veterinarians arrived at a beach south of San Francisco early Wednesday to examine the carcass of a 50-foot sperm whale that washed ashore.

Scientists with the nearby Marine Mammal Center, along with biologists with the California Academy of Sciences, sought to determine how the mammal died.

The animal is one of 17 dead sperm whales to beach along the north coast of California over the 40 years that the center has been handling such cases, a spokeswoman said. Officials say it’s not immediately clear would be done with the carcass after the examination.

A woman looks at the body of a whale on the beach in Pacifica, California, on
Wednesday. Photograph: Jeff Chiu/AP

In January, a rare pygmy sperm whale died after beaching itself in Point Reyes. Investigators said it had likely gotten sick and was too weak to swim.

The San Francisco Chronicle reports the decomposing carcass, believed to be an emaciated adult male, washed up sometime on Tuesday.

Whales, in general, are at risk in the waters where they live.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has asked San Francisco Bay Area boaters to watch out for and steer clear of whales, which migrate into the San Francisco Bay Area in large numbers during the spring and summer.

Gray whales are at a particularly high risk of collisions with ships and boats, as they often travel near shore and may even wander into the bay this time of year, the administration reports.

Boaters should not approach within 100 yards of any whale, cut across a whale’s path, make sudden speed or directional changes or get between a whale cow and her calf.