Massive, ‘beautiful’ creature washes up on Oregon beach in ‘rare’ moment, photos show
.jpg "A fin whale was found dead on the shoreline at Sunset Beach State Recreation Site in Oregon on Feb. 12, officials said.")
UPDATE: Experts conducted a necropsy Feb. 13 and now have more details about the fin whale’s cause of death.
The original story is below.
A massive endangered fin whale washed ashore on a northern Oregon coastline. Its “rare” stranding is currently a mystery to wildlife officials.
The “beautiful” creature was spotted Monday, Feb. 12, at the Sunset Beach State Recreation Site, the Seaside Aquarium said in a Facebook post.
Julie Sunset Kaartinen snapped photos of the mammal and shared them to the Facebook group Life at the Oregon Coast.
“I don’t normally take photos of deceased animals, but this is such a beautiful creature. I was honored to see, photograph and be in the presence of this young Fin whale,” Kaartinen wrote.
Fin whales are the second-largest whale species in the world, following blue whales, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
They were listed as protected animals under the Endangered Species Act in 1970 after their populations dwindled significantly due to being hunted by commercial whalers, the federal agency said.
But when this whale washed ashore it surprised officials.
“This is the first fin whale to have stranded in Oregon in more than 10 years,” NOAA spokesperson Michael Milstein said in an email to McClatchy News on Feb. 13.
Milstein said three fin whales were reported stranded along the West Coast in 2023. That number was two in 2022.
It’s “relatively rare” for this creature to find itself stranded, he said.
There are about 8,000 fin whales in the West Coast, Milstein said, and they typically are found far offshore.
Beachgoers warned to stay away from whale
Although it’s a sad loss for the fin whale species, it will give researchers an opportunity to find out what caused its death.
A necropsy will be performed on the whale Feb. 13, depending on the tides, Milstein said.
But in the meantime, the Seaside Aquarium has urged beachgoers to keep a distance from it.
“Our best chance of learning what happened to this endangered species is to examine the carcass, but any disturbance or interaction with the carcass compromises that opportunity,” the aquarium said in the post.
The public should remain 100 yards away from the whale and any stranded animals, the aquarium advises.
The Sunset Beach State Recreation Site is about 90 miles northwest of Portland.
This story was originally published February 13, 2024 at 12:00 PM.
