A carcass of a beached baby grey whale has found its final resting place in a Santa Cruz landfill.
After it was originally spotted Wednesday, the Coast Guard attempted to prevent the whale from beaching by towing the carcass a mile off the coast. However, the whale washed up on shore near the Santa Cruz Municipal Wharf the following day.
On Friday, the 25-foot-long carcass drew a small crowd while being hauled by two tow trucks over the metal guardrails that line the walking and biking paths of West Cliff. According to the Santa Cruz Sentinel, the Federal Marine authorities decided to move the whale’s carcass to the Dimeo Lane landfill because it was a “health hazard and it was fast becoming an olfactory hazard.”
The cause of the death is unknown and cannot be determined due to the excessive decomposition of the carcass.
Sources:
Gray whale hauled up Santa Cruz cliff, off to the dump [Santa Cruz Sentinel]
