By Khalida Sarwari
Researchers are examining a pregnant blue whale carcass that washed ashore at Bean Hollow State Park on Saturday to determine its cause of death, a supervising state park ranger said today.
The 80-foot whale was first spotted at the southern end of Bean Hollow State Beach Saturday morning, Supervising State Park Ranger Michael Grant said.
A whale fetus was spotted adjacent to the whale about 30 to 40 feet away, Grant said.
Researchers are also investigating when the whale might have died and what to do with the carcass.
Grant said that when he saw the whale on Sunday, he was amazed by its size.
“I was surprised by the enormity,” he said.
The investigation is being led by the California Academy of Sciences and is in conjunction with the Marine Mammal Center and the University of California, Santa Cruz’s Long Marine Lab.