A 30-foot dead humpback whale washed ashore in Newport Beach on Wednesday, becoming stranded near 11th Street on the Balboa Peninsula after two powerful storms swept through Southern California earlier this week.
The juvenile sub-adult whale, weighing approximately 10 tons (20,000 pounds), was first spotted floating offshore around 1:45 p.m. near 28th Street before heavy waves pushed it onto the beach by about 3 p.m., according to local reports.
Staff from the Pacific Marine Mammal Center quickly responded to assess the situation, finding no obvious external injuries or signs of trauma on initial examination.
Marine mammal experts are hoping that another storm expected to hit the area on Thursday will naturally pull the carcass back out to sea. “If that does not happen, they will need to find another way to remove it,” reported ABC7.
The cause of death remains unknown at this time. A necropsy is planned to determine what led to the whale’s demise, following standard protocol for marine mammal strandings. The incident occurred in an area between the Newport and Balboa piers, close to Newport Elementary School.
Recent years have seen increased humpback whale mortalities along the West Coast, often attributed to factors such as vessel strikes, fishing gear entanglements, or malnutrition, though no specific cause has been identified in this case.
Aerial footage from AIR7 captured the large dark body being battered by waves on the beach, highlighting the somber scene amid the ongoing stormy weather.
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