2 Dead Whales Wash Ashore in Orange County

Two gray whales that washed up Wednesday on Orange County beaches were buried in a 12-foot trench dug into the shore.

Officials said finding a dead whale on a local beach is not unusual, but finding two at the same time is rare.

“We usually see two dead whales each year in Orange County, not in one day,” said Lt. Marty Kasules of the Sheriff’s Department Harbor Patrol.

The larger whale, a 33-foot male weighing 15 tons, probably died of natural causes, officials said. The other, a 30-foot female thought to be 2 years old, was tangled in the remains of a fishing net, which may have contributed to its death.

Statewide, 12 gray whales have beached so far this year, including four on Wednesday alone: the two in Orange County, a third in San Diego County and a fourth in Santa Barbara County. Last year, 47 were found in California, up sharply from 30 in 1998, according to the National Marine Fisheries Service.

But authorities said they have no reason to believe a whale die-off is in progress.

“It’s unusual, but nothing more than a coincidence. One was affected by fishing gear. Another could have died from natural causes. They just happened to come up at the same time, close to each other,” said John Heyning, a mammal curator at the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County.

Although at least one dead whale was sighted in the surf on Tuesday, Kasules said his office received a call about the first beached whale on Sunset Beach at 4:20 a.m. Wednesday. A second call came at 6 a.m. after another dead whale was found in Anaheim Bay, at the U.S. Naval Weapons Station in Seal Beach.

The second whale was towed by boat to Sunset Beach to be buried with the first. Whales are typically buried in the sand where they are found, because putting them back out to sea just makes burial someone else’s problem, Kasules said.

Marine biologists are working to determine the causes of death for the two whales.

Heyning, who took the whales’ measurements and skin samples for genetic testing, said he will try to determine the origin of gill netting found on one of the whales. California has banned the netting, which can kill dolphins and whales, but the animal may have run afoul of it outside of state waters, he said.