A dead 45-ton fin whale washed up on a beach in San Diego, roughly one mile from the border between the United States and Mexico. The animal is believed to be the same one that was towed away from Point Loma on May 21.
The deceased cetacean first came ashore on May 19. Lifeguards used a motorboat to take the carcass away, and the body was handed over to the Marine Conservation Science Institute. That team brought the animal to waters where, it was believed, the body would not return to shore. The group believed the carcass would soon be eaten by natural scavengers, although using the animal as bait for pregnant female sharks was forbidden by the state of California. Rough seas prevented the animal from being towed the planned 14 miles from shore.
"We cut the whale loose over the 9-Mile Bank. No white sharks have showed up yet, but sooner or later they will. Keith did his best to put the whale in a place where it will not drift back to the beach," the Marine Conservation Science Institute wrote on a Facebook posting on May 24.
That posting, optimistically titled "Final posting," would not live up to its billing. Later that day, the group noted the animal drifted back onto shore, not long after being released.
"[The carcass] was drifting south when the tow line snapped... but didn't go far enough! Welcome back, whale," team members announced on social media.
The animal was identified by biologists from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), based on the size of the animal, as well as the degree of decay seen in the carcass.
After the California state government refused to let the team use the dead mammal as bait for breeding sharks, the fin whale washed back up on Imperial Beach, which is controlled by the state.
"They're the ones who told us we couldn't do what we wanted to do, and it's now on their beach," Michael Domeier, institute president, said to the San Diego Union Tribune.
No one is certain what killed the whale, but some investigators believe it may have been a collision with a ship. That is the most common cause of death for members of the species.
"[E]ntanglement in fishing gear, reduced prey abundance due to overfishing, habitat degradation, and disturbance from low-frequency noise also threaten fin whales," NOAA researchers wrote.
Groups involved in the incident are currently trying to determine how to handle the body.
