Beachgoers in California stumbled upon a saddening sight this weekend after 51-foot endangered juvenile male fin whale died after he was stranded on a California beach on Saturday afternoon.
According to a report from local affiliate FOX 11 in Los Angeles, Lifeguards from the Los Angeles County Fire Department responded at about 6 p.m. to the distressed animal spotted inside the surfline near Torrance Beach. The whale passed away a few hours later, according to the Marine Mammal Care Center (MMCC), which dispatched conservationists shortly after the whale was first reported.
Massive fin whale dies after washing ashore on Southern California beach https://t.co/Y3vPSbHNoo
— KUSI News (@KUSINews) August 11, 2024
The organization said the whale was in poor condition, indicating he was sick and weak when rescuers arrived on the scene.
A necropsy, or animal autopsy, is now underway.
Per the FOX 11 report, MMCC specialist Keith Matassa said that multiple samples were taken from the whale. These samples will be given to pathologists to determine the whale’s life history and genetics. The pathologists will also try to determine why the whale died.
According to Matassa, whales beach when they’re near death because they can’t support themselves out in the water.
On Sunday, the whale was tow-lined to a lifeguard boat and pulled out to sea to its watery burial to help feed other marine life, FOX 11 reported.
Fin whales are part of Southern California’s rich, diverse ecosystem, according to the MMCC. They are second only to blue whales in size and are listed as an endangered species worldwide.