SAN FRANCISCO—A massive humpback whale was found washed along the shoreline south of San Francisco on Tuesday, May 5, marking the second time a dead whale has appeared in the area in less than three weeks.
The 32-foot female humpback whale was found within eyesight of where a dead 50-foot sperm whale was beached in mid-April. The whale was first seen floating in the surf, drifting towards the direction of the beach last Thursday.
Since the carcass was trapped in the surf, members of the Marine Mammal Center were unable to perform an immediate necropsy on the whale.
Though it is unusual to find two carcasses in such a short span of time, it is entirely possible that the consecutive findings were a coincidence bought on by strong onshore winds. Per the Marine Mammal Center, whales are most commonly beached in the spring and fall months.
Though humpback whales are regularly seen in California waters, they are listed as an endangered species under the Endangered Species Act. The Marine Mammal Center is hoping that surf conditions calm so they may perform an autopsy and determine whether or not there was an unnatural cause of death.
