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Dead gray whale washes ashore on county beach
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James Glover II / Star staff Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History workers Paul Collin, left, Krista Fahy and Michelle Berman take samples from the whale.
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A 45-foot dead gray whale washed ashore near Hobson Beach Park on Sunday. Watch biologist study the animal which died of unknown causes.Watch now »
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More from County NewsScientists are uncertain what caused the death of a gray whale that washed up on a Ventura County beach Sunday, saying the animal was too decomposed to determine the cause.
The 45-foot, female, gray whale was likely dead for about three weeks before it washed onto the beach just north of Hobson County Park, said Michelle Berman, an assistant curator at the Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History.
Thousands of gray whales, now making their annual migration from Alaska to Mexico, often swim through the Santa Barbara Channel and some die on the way, she said. This is the first dead gray whale spotted this year.
"It's pretty common this time of year to have stranded animals," Berman said. "Not everyone makes the migration."
What will happen to the more than 40-ton rotting carcass is as much a question as how it died.
Ron Van Dyck, deputy director of the Ventura County Parks Department, said his staff was going to wait until the high tides today to see if the whale washes out to sea.
The mammal is currently wedged into rocks below the gated Seacliff community. The beach is inaccessible to earth movers or any other equipment that could be used to move the whale, Van Dyck said.
Kathy Jenks, director of the Ventura County Animal Regulation Department, said it was unclear if the whale was on state or county property.
Van Dyck said it was unlikely the county would bury the whale. It didn't work out last year when the county buried a blue whale, only to dig it up later after the tides began to erode the sand burying the carcass.
Last year, five blue whales were found dead on Southern California beaches, three of which died after colliding with ships, Berman said.
But because the recent gray whale was so decomposed, Berman and her colleagues only did basic tests on the animal, measuring its length and the width of its tail.
Gray whales were once hunted extensively and their carcasses were used for everything from oil to buggy whips and corset stays. An international treaty stopped the hunting of the Pacific population, which helped the population rebound from dangerously low levels.
Today, more than 20,000 gray whales live off the West Coast.
During the next few months, mothers shepherding their young on the southbound migration will come so close to land that they can be spotted from beachside cliffs.
Museum officials wanted to remind people not to bother any marine mammal that washes onshore.
Anyone who sees a dead mammal should call the museum at 682-4711 ext. 157. Live mammals should be reported to the Channel Islands Marine & Wildlife Institute at 567-1505.
Posted by uknow1 on February 5, 2008 at 6:59 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Could it be they're "colliding with ships" because they're hearing and directional sensory abilities are being destroyed by Navy sonar? Why is it that they keep dying at the EXACT SAME TIME as Navy exercise manuevers are taking place off of our coast?
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article...
At what point does common-sense win out over governmental baloney?
Posted by amycastillo78 on February 5, 2008 at 10:01 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Actually, no. We found no evidence of sonar damage in any of the previously beached whales. And your reference to "EXACT SAME TIME" presupposes you can pinpoint the exact time of death, which we cannot. This latest whale appears to have died approximately three weeks ago, but we cannot say with any greater precision than that when she died. And three dead whales in six months is really not a significant sample with which to make any conclusions. Finally, the government has not said that sonar does not harm whales (as you imply with your "baloney" comment). Evidence of actual harm is nil, but there is no question that sonar pulses harm creatures near enough to experience the high pressure pulses. The question posed by the Navy is whether restraints on sonar training can be justified by what is for now merely scant evidence of actual harm. Believe what you wish about these three dead whales. But sonar did not kill them. It is worth noting that the Navy has used sonar in training and in actual missions for over 50 years, an enormous quantity of that use being right off the So Cal coast. One would expect some evidence of harm to have surfaced in that time period.
Posted by UdontKnowMe on February 5, 2008 at 10:51 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Uknow1 I share your concern. As for the other blogger, have you been hit with the sonar by the Navy? I would continue to comment on your lame comment, but it would be a waste of my time!
Posted by sslocal on February 5, 2008 at 12:02 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Itsallmine, information source please. I cannot blindly accept your comments without a source. Show me the research and I will review it.
Emotion in such a controversial subject is not recommended.
Posted by sslocal on February 5, 2008 at 2:13 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Just asking for sources. I really don't care one bit how much you rage at the human race.
Posted by CatInAHat on February 5, 2008 at 4:01 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Slow news day . . . .
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