13,000-Pound Whale Dies After Getting Stuck On Malibu Beach

MALIBU, CA — A gray whale died after getting stuck on the sand at a Malibu beach Saturday, according to the California Wildlife Center.

The Malibu-based CWC responded to a call Saturday about the whale being in distress at Little Dume Beach. Weighing in at approximately 13,000 lbs., the sub-adult male whale got stranded on the beach and was wedged in the sand, the CWC said.

The whale died sometime after the CWC responded to the call, the organization said.

"We are currently planning to get samples from the whale to help determine why this happened," the nonprofit wrote on social media.

The CWC is working with National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration officials to formulate the next steps in the response to the beached whale, the CWC said.

"As the tide rises, the animal may shift in the waves so please keep a safe distance," the CWC wrote.

Found in the North Pacific, gray whales once thrived throughout the northern hemisphere but were brought to near extinction due to commercial whaling, according to NOAA.

The whales, which grow to about 90,000 lbs. and nearly 50 feet, make one of the longest annual migrations of any mammal when they travel about 10,000 miles round trip, according to NOAA.

From mid-February to May, eastern North Pacific gray whales migrate northward along the West Coast from their more southern wintering and calving areas, according to NOAA.