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What to do with a dead whale? Santa Cruz wants to know

Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on April 3, 2009 at 9:08 am

The headline just begs for this, I’m sorry…! First, the story from the Contra Costa Times:

It’s tempting to call it a whale of a problem. After a dead California gray whale washed back to shore Wednesday evening, just hours after wharf workers towed it about a mile out to sea, away from the wharf, city officials and marine mammal experts Thursday again began plotting a return to sea for the pungent yearling.

Marine biologists said there is no obvious sign of trauma on the 25-foot whale and they are not sure why the young female died. California gray whales are close to shore at this time of year, as they migrate from their winter home in the warm waters off Mexico to summer feeding grounds surrounding Alaska.

Thursday, the plan was to use the buoyancy of an early Friday high tide to tow the whale at least 10 miles offshore, said Dan Buecher, the city’s wharf supervisor.

The tricky part will be the surf conditions in the rocky cove just west of Its Beach where the whale washed up, he said.

Later Thursday, when high surf predictions began rolling in, a back-up plan was hatched — to use a tow truck to haul the whale up the cliff to a low-boy trailer, and drive it out to the city landfill, Buecher said. “It’s an evolving plan,” he said. “It’s looking like the land way is safer, but we won’t know until we are there.”

Read more from the Contra Costa Times by clicking here.

Okay, now for the fun…. I can’t believe I get to pull this one out again, but hey, the headline did ask for this, you have to admit. What to do with a dead whale? Here’s what’s NOT to do in this video classic:

April 3, 2009 · Filed Under Weird & Wacky Water News

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