Dead young humpback whale washes up at Oceano Dunes

The carcass of a young humpback whale washed up on shore Monday afternoon at the Oceano Dunes.

California State Parks representative Kevin Pearce says the cause of death is unknown. Pearce says Park staff sent samples of different parts of the skin to the Channel Islands Cetacean Research Unit.

Normally, the CICR would do a necropsy on the whale, but in this situation, Pearce says that was not possible.

Tuesday morning, Park Staff transported the whale to an area within the off-highway vehicle area and buried it.

“We did this to eliminate a potential hazard to pedestrians and vehicles, reduce visitor inconvenience due to the lengthy decomposition process and to eliminate any associated predator impacts to our Snowy Plover and Least Tern species by scavenger birds such as seagulls and vultures,” said Pearce.