Dead Blue​ Whale Washes Up On Point Reyes National Seashore

MARIN COUNTY, CA – Another dead whale has washed ashore in Marin County.

A blue whale carcass was found Monday afternoon a few miles south of Limantour Beach in Point Reyes National Seashore, the Marine Mammal Center announced. Scientists from the Sausalito-based center and California Academy of Sciences plan to perform a necropsy, or animal autopsy, Tuesday in an attempt to determine the cause of death.

The Marine Mammal Center's rescue department first received public reports Saturday evening of the carcass floating two miles east of the Farallon Islands.

"This is only the 10th blue whale carcass that our team has responded to in our 43-year history, so this necropsy is a rare chance to learn more about the overall health and life history of this species," Marine Mammal Center researcher Barbie Halaska said in a statement.

The Marine Mammal Center has responded to eight whale carcasses this year. Ship strikes and entanglement in fishing gear are leading causes of whale mortality, according to the center.

Blue whales are the largest animals on earth and are listed as an endangered species. Approximately 2,800 blue whales live off the California coast and are seen in the summer and fall in the Gulf of the Farallones and the Cordell Bank national marine sanctuaries.

The Marine Mammal Center, a nonprofit, encouraged the public to report sick and injured marine mammals by calling 415-289-SEAL (7325). People should maintain a safe distance of at least 50 feet from stranded marine mammals and keep dogs away, officials said.

ALSO SEE:

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• Human-Related Causes Resulted In Whale Deaths In Bay Area
• 2 Dead Whales Found In Bay Area, Including 1 In Marin County
• Marin's Marine Mammal Center Studies Dead Whale At Angel Island

Photo: Blue whale stranding, Point Reyes National Seashore, June 18, 2018. Photo by UC Santa Cruz, provided with permission for media use by The Marine Mammal Center.