A 40,000-pound whale was found dead and decomposing near the Malibu beach homes of Hollywood celebrities on Thursday.
According to NBC News , officials have been trying to figure how to deal with the huge carcass and the horrible smell.
Kevin Marble of the L.A. County Lifeguards told Malibu Patch :
“It’s not physically capable of being moved because of its condition. It’s so embedded in sand that they won’t be able to get it out. The body will be pulled apart.”
The young fin whale’s carcass was found on Monday morning. Veterinarian’s with the California Wildlife Center later determined that the whale died from what looks like injuries from a ship striking it.
Marble said that burying the 40-foot-long whale carcass could be a possible option on how to get rid of it. However, the whale carcass would have to be moved somewhere else since it now sits in a rocky area. He said, “It has to be exhumed and moved and buried.”
California State Parks has also been involved in the process, but they have yet to come up with a plan on what to do with the whale carcass.
Pars spokesman Craig Sap told Malibu Patch :
“We don’t have a boat. We don’t have the resources to drag it off the beach.”
Seeing as how “it’s on a private beach,” the L.A. County Department of Beaches and Harbors have said that they are not responsible for the disposal of the whale carcass.
The whale washed up between Paradise Cove and Point Dume. The private beach is near the homes of Barbra Streisand and Bob Dylan.
Fin whales have been listed as an endangered species under the federal Endangered Species Act. The whales can grow to up to 85 feet long, weigh up to 80 tons, and live for up to 90 years.
The West Coast population of fin whales in 2003 was estimated at around 2,500. That number is 3,300 less than what it was in 1996, the federal government says.
