See The Massive 52-Foot Whale That Washed Up In California

Continue reading for our analysis...

Whenever animals show up dead, it is always a sad thing to experience. However, it is vital for programs like the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to do thorough research. They can evaluate the sudden cause of death in animals. The NOAA always recommends for locals to keep their distance. Until further research is complete, there’s just no way to know for sure if the deceased animal has a disease. Let’s see the below newscast of a massive 52-foot whale that washed up on shore!

Fin Whale Sighting in California

The breaking news video at the top of this blog post takes us to California, where a massive fin whale washed up on shore. The Fox 5 San Diego news channel picked this story up along with various other news stations from around the country. 

As the newcast starts, the anchors are discussing that this fin whale had washed up on the Pacific beach. They don’t know how long the whale had even been there washed up on shore. Fox 5 San Diego shares from a local surfer, Nick Hennis, “We thought it was a tarp from out in the water, but eventually we realized it was a whale, and I’ve never seen anything like it.”

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) arrived on the scene to document this finding for future study. Hundreds of people gathered around to watch this sight unfold. After all, it’s not every day that people get to witness a 52-foot fin whale in person. (For reference, a school bus is approximately 35 feet in length.)  After a closer examination, the NOAA was not able to determine the cause of death. 

Crews attempted to get this massive whale back into the ocean, but as we can imagine, this was no easy task. And it took them several hours to complete. NBC 7 San Diego reported that lifeguards were able to tow the whale back to sea and allowed it to sink off about a mile offshore. 

Are Fin Whales Endangered?

The International Union for Conservation of Nature, commonly known as IUCN, is the official list that keeps track of animal species that are in one of the following nine categories. 

• Not evaluated
• Data deficient
• Least concern
• Near threatened
• Vulnerable
• Endangered
• Critically endangered
• Extinct in the wild and extinct

According to the NOAA, “The fin whale (Balaenoptera physalus) is listed as endangered throughout its range under the Endangered Species Act and as depleted throughout its range under the Marine Mammal Protection Act.” However, in recent research according to the IUCN Red List, the fin whale population has begun to increase, and is now officially listed as “vulnerable.”

This is also a vital reason the NOAA responded immediately to this fin whale washing up on shore. They want to do their part to research the cause of this death to see if it can be preventable in other fin whales.