3rd Whale in a Month Washes Up on Coast

The malnourished body of a 12-ton California Gray Whale washed ashore at Sunset Beach early Saturday, marking the third time in a month that a whale has died along the Orange County coast.

Officials said they were trying to determine whether the deaths were related and expressed concern that three whales have washed ashore in such a short period.

Normally, one or two whales a year are found dead along the local coastline, said Joanette Willert, a ranger with the county’s Harbors, Beaches and Parks Department.

Willert coordinated the burial of the massive mammal Saturday afternoon on the sand near Anderson Street in Sunset Beach. A bulldozer dug a grave for the whale and pushed it into the trench.

“We don’t know why it died,” said Willert. “It could be El Nino, it could be pollution, it could be coincidence, it could be a number of things.”

Estimated to be a year old, the whale was about three tons lighter than the average for its age, leading officials to believe it suffered from malnutrition. Authorities believe it is the same whale the U.S. Coast Guard spotted floating near the shore a week ago. At that time, the Coast Guard towed it out to sea, Willert said, fearing it was a hazard to passing boats.

The discovery came four weeks after the bodies of two gray whales washed up about the same time--one in Sunset Beach, the other in neighboring Seal Beach.

The tail of one was tangled in gill netting, a type of fishing gear banned in California because it hurts the ability of sea animals to swim and find food. Both died of malnutrition, Willert said.

Last year, 47 were found in California, up sharply from 30 in 1998, according to the National Marine Fisheries Service. But authorities have said they have no reason to believe a whale die-off is in progress.

Willert said the food supply of a whale could be affected by the warmer ocean waters caused by the El Nino weather condition or by pollution. But she stressed no one is sure of the reason.