Package ran live for NewsWaves 32 on March 19.
The California Wildlife Center responded to a beached gray whale at Little Dume Beach on March 16.
The young whale was found early in the morning and died later in the afternoon. The CWC wrote that the whale had potential cranial trauma of an unknown origin in a March 18 press release.
“It had no huge, gross injuries, so we can rule out things like predator wounds or entanglement,” said Heather Henderson, California Wildlife Center Marine Program Director.
The male whale was in the juvenile age range and was slightly underweight for its age, Henderson said.
After learning about the whale, the CWC sent a team to collaborate with the Ocean Animal Response and Research Alliance to assess the condition of the carcass and determine the cause of death, the CWC wrote.
The team returned the next morning to educate the public on the whale and enforce safety, Henderson said.
“We were out here educating the public, keeping people safe and making them understand the power of the ocean and this animal,” Henderson said.
The tides started to carry the carcass back out to shore Monday morning, but Little Dume residents took matters into their own hands.
KNX News reporter Emily Valdez said residents pulled the whale back out to the ocean with a boat. After a failed attempt to move a whale in 2012, Valdez said residents were confident this whale will not wash back ashore.
The death evoked strong emotions for some Little Dume residents — especially due to the young age of the whale.
“They’re incredible creatures, so to see one in distress — and now it’s dead— is sad,” Little Dume resident Shannon Hayden said.
The CWC believed the whale was migrating from the Baja Peninsula to Alaskan Waters and is the third gray whale beached in Southern California this year, the CWC wrote in a press release.
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