Overview
- A large fin whale washed ashore at Cowell Beach and died after beaching, drawing hundreds of onlookers to the scene on Thursday.
- Scientists on site described the animal as severely emaciated and showing signs of long-term illness, though officials have not yet identified a definitive cause of death.
- Teams from UC Santa Cruz’s Long Marine Laboratory, NOAA, the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute and local public-safety crews led the response and removal effort.
- The whale was loaded onto heavy equipment and moved by Friday morning to a location where marine mammal specialists and the Marine Mammal Center can perform a necropsy.
- Fin whales are listed as endangered and occur in Monterey Bay; investigators will look for causes such as disease, starvation or injury and consider implications for local whale conservation and human beach use.