Humpback whale washes ashore Oregon beach. Its death is a mystery, officials say
The whale was found as officials investigate tar that’s been appearing on Oregon and Washington shorelines. A dead and bloated humpback whale was spotted floating off the Oregon coast on May 27, ending up in a protected nesting area for shoreline birds. Officials are investigating the cause of the whale's death, which they may not know for a week. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration confirmed that the whale was bloated and likely died a few days before it was spotted. The whale was found outside of the area affected by tar, but there is no reason to connect it to the tar washing ashore. The public has been warned to stay away from the area due to the presence of threatened western snowy plovers.
发表 : 一个月前 经过 Helena Wegner 在 Science
A bloated and dead humpback whale was spotted floating off the Oregon coast, officials said.
It washed ashore Monday, May 27, at Nehalem Bay State Park and ended up in a protected nesting area for shoreline birds, Oregon State Parks said in a Facebook post.
Now, officials are trying to determine what caused the whale’s death, but they might not know for a week.
Greg and Cheryl Gosser, who live off Manhattan Beach, told KPTV they saw the whale floating in the ocean from their window.
“I looked at it and immediately thought it was a whale,” Greg Gosser told the news outlet. “It was definitely bloated that’s why it was floating so high on the water.”
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration spokesperson Michael Milstein confirmed the whale was bloated and had likely died a few days before it was spotted.
It was a young male humpback whale that was about 34 feet long, Milstein said in an email to McClatchy News, which is about half the size of full-grown whale.
Wildlife officials are also investigating a petroleum substance as it appears on beaches and covers seabirds in Oregon and southern Washington.
In Oregon, oiled birds and tar have been discovered in Manzanita, Lincoln City and in Cannon Beach/Haystack Rock area. They were also found in the Long Beach Peninsula in southern Washington.
Manzanita is less than a mile north of Nehalem Bay State Park — where the dead whale washed ashore.
However, Milstein said the whale was found outside of the area affected by tar.
“We have no reason to think there is a connection to the tar washing ashore,” he said in an email. “There were no obvious signs from the carcass that there is any connection.”
But tissue samples were taken from the mammal so officials will know for sure what health problems or contaminants caused its death, Milstein said.
A larger team will also do a necropsy on the whale later this week to get more information, he said.
The marine mammal landed near a protected nesting area for western snowy plovers, a shoreline bird that has been federally listened as threatened, according to the U.S. Forest Service.
Because of this, officials are warning the public to keep a distance.
“This means there is no access to the beach from the dry sand area where signs are posted and pets are not allowed,” park officials said.
If beachgoers are in the area, they must stay on wet sand because the snowy plovers nest in the dry sand.
话题: Wildlife