Gray Whale Dies At Dockweiler Beach (Photos)

PLAYA DEL REY, CA — Waves washed over a 2-year-old gray whale Thursday as people surrounded the creature at its final resting place on the shore.

"We've seen a lot of them normally," Peter Wallerstein, President of the Marina Animal Rescue told Patch.

"It's very rare that they're dead or die on the beach," Wallerstein said.

The whale was part of the migration of gray whales from Baja to the Arctic, Wallerstein said. It likely washed up because it was sick.

"When they get sick, they beach themselves to prevent from drowning," Wallerstein said. "But they don't know that beaching themselves is even worse because it puts a lot of pressure on their bodies."

Lifeguards found the 2-year-old whale about 4 p.m. Wednesday. It died on the shore at Dockweiler Beach in Playa del Rey about 6:30 p.m., according to the Marine Animal Rescue.

Green ropes were attached to the whale Thursday as people sat captivated by it, watching and sitting in the sand as children played and others took photos.

A boat was coming from San Pedro Thursday to tow the whale back to deeper water, Wallerstein said. The ropes held the whale in place during the necropsy and in preparation to tow it.

Waves wash over a 2-year-old gray whale that died yesterday at Dockweiler Beach in Playa del Rey. pic.twitter.com/vLxlPNrRz8
— Nicole Charky (@NicoleCharky) March 18, 2021

beautiful and devastating at the same time pic.twitter.com/HIFwi4R8lN
— Nicole Charky (@NicoleCharky) March 18, 2021