DANA POINT : County Workers Bury Gray Whale

Six days after washing ashore, the carcass of 35-foot, 12-ton California gray whale was buried in the sand near Poche Beach on Monday.

The mammal, which had been decapitated for research by the Museum of Natural History in Los Angeles, had spent the five previous days either bobbing in the storm surf or rolling about the beach near the southern end of the exclusive Beach Road community. But Monday the waves and storm had subsided and the dead whale wound up lying on the beach, said Larry Paul, manager of coastal facilities for the county.

At low tide Monday afternoon, the whale was laid to rest by county workers.

“The whale was returned to nature,” said Paul, whose crew buried the whale “very deep” with the help of a backhoe. “We found a spot for it above the mean high tide line.”