Overview
- Municipal crews worked with PROFEPA and the local environment department after the carcass was found Monday near the Playas de Tijuana lifeguard station, with PROFEPA noting the whale had been dead for more than 24 hours.
- Operations began at 6:45 a.m. Tuesday during low tide using excavators, and a larger machine was requested to move the animal.
- A trench of about five meters was dug and, by roughly 1 p.m., the body was towed into the pit and covered with sand to limit gas buildup and foul odors.
- Authorities cordoned off the site and urged people to keep their distance as curious visitors briefly approached before the smell pushed them back.
- Mexico’s stranded marine mammal protocol was activated, outlining sample collection and measures to manage decomposition, and officials noted a similar burial of a humpback in Mazatlán earlier this year.