Health officials ask the public to steer clear of 37ft carcass of humpback ‘juvenile’ whale which washed onto San Francisco beach
- Local health officials are asking the public to steer away from the dead mammal that was found at the southern end of Baker Beach
- Scientists from the Marine Mammal Center and the California Academy of Sciences performed a partial necropsy on Tuesday
- They discovered that the carcass was ‘severely decomposed’
- A final necropsy report will be performed on the whale, which was described as being a juvenile
- The beach parking lot is closed to deter people from driving to the beach as the state is under a shelter-in-place to stop the spread of COVID-19
A beached humpback whale on a San Francisco beach attracted quite the number of spectators on Tuesday.
Local health officials are asking the public to steer away from the dead mammal that was found at the southern end of Baker Beach.
Scientists from the Marine Mammal Center and the California Academy of Sciences performed a partial necropsy on Tuesday and discovered that the carcass was ‘severely decomposed,’ SF Gate reports.
Local health officials are asking the public to steer away from the dead mammal that was found at the southern end of Baker Beach on Tuesday
Scientists from the Marine Mammal Center and the California Academy of Sciences performed a partial necropsy on Tuesday
A final necropsy report will be performed on the whale, which was described as being a juvenile.
‘As we investigate why this whale died, we ask people to keep their distance from the whale, not only because of shelter-in-place orders but also due to any potential diseases the animal might have that could transmit to people,’ said Dr. Pádraig Duignan, chief pathologist at the Sausalito-based Marine Mammal Center.
They discovered that the carcass was ‘severely decomposed’
A final necropsy report will be performed on the whale, which was described as being a juvenile
‘Whale necropsies are critical to provide insights into the overall health of these animals and their ocean environment, including human activity that can impact them, with the goal of understanding how best to protect these magnificent animals.’
The beach parking lot is closed to deter people from driving to the beach as the state is under a shelter-in-place to stop the spread of COVID-19.
The National Park Service is expected to support the city in burying the whale on site to reduce public safety hazard, according to NPS spokesperson Julian Espinoza.
The beach parking lot is closed to deter people from driving to the beach as the state is under a shelter-in-place to stop the spread of COVID-19
The National Park Service is expected to support the city in burying the whale on site to reduce public safety hazard, according to NPS spokesperson Julian Espinoza