Stillborn gray whale washes up in Huntington

A stillborn gray whale washed up on the sands of Huntington State Beach on Monday afternoon, accompanied by a distinctive odor and drawing crowds, beach officials said.

The dead calf was about 15 feet long, and lifeguards estimated that it weighed about 1 1/2 tons, or 3,000 pounds, said Joe Milligan, park superintendent at Huntington and Bolsa Chica state beaches.

A scientist with the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County was dispatched to perform tests on the animal, Milligan said.

Beach officials plan to dispose of the carcass -- about the size of a Toyota Prius -- this morning, using a heavy-duty front-loader tractor to bury it on the beach.

“Quite honestly, this is a very small whale” compared with other creatures that have washed ashore at the state beach, Milligan said. A dead whale turns up in the area about once a year, he said.

“There is a life cycle out there, and whales do die; they do at times come ashore.”

Gray whales migrate in shallow coastal waters between Alaska and Baja California, often giving birth in warmer southern waters. Full-grown gray whales can reach up to 50 feet in length, weigh 80,000 pounds and are about the size of a school bus.

Beach officials cordoned off the area to keep gawkers away from the partially decomposed whale.

The remains, however, don’t pose a health hazard to sunbathers or swimmers crowding the beaches for spring break, Milligan said.

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susannah.rosenblatt@latimes.com