Dead whale draws stares in Huntington

March 24th, 2008, 7:53 pm · 3 Comments · posted by Laylan Connelly, staff writer

If you’ve ever wondered what a dead gray whale feels like, Janda Chasse could tell you.
“The fin is kind of goopy, and it feels like pudding,” said Chasse, 11, who touched a baby gray whale carcass as it lay on the sand Monday.
Personally, I wouldn’t recommend petting a dead whale … but I guess you only live once.
The juvenile gray whale washed up on shore Monday afternoon at about 3:30 p.m., drawing spectators who let out words like “gross” and “how sad” as they stopped to stare.
The gray whale was about 15-feet long, and 1,500 pounds. Biologists came out to inspect and sample the whale. There was no evidence of trauma, meaning it likely died from natural causes, said Alisa Schulman-Janiger, marine biologist.

Schulman-Janiger said there haven’t been a large number of dead whales that have washed up this year, only about five throughout California. The average usually ranges from six to eight during the gray whale season, which starts Dec. 1.
Though it’s a part of nature for the whales to wash up on shore, the shocking sight of it made many people slow in the sand from curiosity.
“What is that?” asked Nick Ostoja, as he took a romantic beach stroll with his girlfriend Jennifer Jones.
“Do you have a phone,” Jones asked him. “Take a photo!”
“You don’t see that everyday, walking on the beach and there’s a dead whale,” she said.
Huntington Beach State Lifeguard Ryan Gates said he rarely sees whales wash up on the shore. The last one he saw buried as 40-feet long, and now sits under tower 22.
The latest dead whale will be buried at low tide tomorrow, scheduled at about 6:15 a.m., said he said.
Until then, it will just hang out on the sand. If you go to check it out, cover your nose.
“I can smell it now, it’s kicking up,” said Pam Woodard, turning her face away from it.