A dead gray whale that washed ashore in Alameda over the weekend will be towed to Angel Island to be examined by scientists, officials with The Marine Mammal Center said.
The whale is believed to be an adult female gray whale that was previously sighted on Thursday at a different location along the Alameda’s shoreline, near the USS Hornet Museum. Scientists took a sample from the whale at that time and determined it was an adult female.
The whale may have been pushed by the tide to Robert W. Crown Memorial State Beach on Sunday, officials said.
The whale is the fourth dead gray whale found in the Bay Area so far this year, and scientists will conduct a necropsy after the animal is towed to Angel Island State Park, said Marine Mammal spokesperson Giancarlo Rulli.
Although it’s been determined that one of the gray whale deaths was due to a probable ship strike, scientists are also looking at other causes, such as malnutrition.
The previous gray whale strandings in the Bay this year were April 4 at Fort Point Rock Beach; April 2 at Angel Island State Park; and March 30 at Black Sands Beach, Golden Gate National Recreation Area. A minke whale also died in the Bay Area this year, according to The Marine Mammal Center. The minke whale was a juvenile that was euthanized April 8 after it became stranded on a mudflat just off Emeryville.
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