A dead whale was found washed ashore in Long Beach on Sunday morning, and experts are working to confirm if it’s the same small minke whale that was trapped in a harbor last week.
A KTLA viewer and resident of Long Beach submitted photos and video of the beached whale on Sunday morning.
KTLA has reached out to National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Fisheries, where a spokesperson said experts are heading to the scene. The spokesperson added that it will take at least a couple of hours to confirm the whale’s identity.
The NOAA had been working last week to help a whale escape the harbor after it accidentally swam in, likely during high tide. Justin Viezbicke of NOAA Fisheries said the theory was that a bridge above the harbor was to blame for the whale’s refusal to swim back into the deeper ocean waters.
“You know, this is a very surface-visual animal and when you come out of that little area and you look up, there’s this very large structure that’s overhead, and whales are not used to having things over them,” he said.
Experts added that the whale didn’t appear to be in poor shape and it was likely young due to its size — but it couldn’t survive for too long in the shallow water with a lack of food.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates.
