A 40-foot gray whale has washed ashore in Half Moon Bay, one of three dead whales to have been spotted on a Bay Area beach in a little over a month.
According to California Academy of Sciences spokeswoman Haley Bowling, the whale washed ashore on Monday near Kelly Beach between St. Francis and Poplar beaches. Scientists suspect it was the same whale that was reported offshore from Pillar Point.
A spokesperson for the Marine Mammal Center in Sausalito said the adult gray whale is a female. Laura Sherr said scientists would likely examine the whale's bones on Wednesday for signs of trauma.
Dead whale washed up in Half Moon Bay near Kelly Beach. pic.twitter.com/NbFMBVIamQ — Marianne Favro (@mariannefavro) May 19, 2015
Within the last two months, two other whales have washed ashore in the Bay Area, about 13 miles north of Half Moon Bay. A sperm whale washed ashored in Pacifica on April 14 and a humpback whale washed ashore on May 5.
Both those whales were buried on Tuesday.
