October 21, 2009 - 8:05 PM
SAN FRANCISCO - A 70-foot, female blue whale that officials believe was struck by a ship has washed ashore on the Northern California coast in what scientists are calling a rare occurrence.
The whale was first spotted on shore near Fort Bragg in Mendocino County on Monday night, hours after an ocean survey vessel reported hitting a whale a few miles away, said Joe Cordaro, a wildlife biologist with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's marine fisheries service.
Blue whales are the world's largest mammals.
Students from California State University, Humboldt, examined the whale's massive body Tuesday as it lay on its side in a rocky cove.
"I was personally jazzed just to see the animal," said Thor Holmes, a lecturer in mammology at the school. He said he has examined other whale species that washed ashore but never a blue whale.
The whale had two gashes on its back -- at least one of which was deep enough to cut through the blubber down to the vertebral column, Holmes said. It otherwise appeared to be in good health.
It's unusual for blue whales to wash ashore, Cordaro said. Last week, another blue whale washed up in Monterey County after being hit by a ship. The whales are "usually far offshore, deep water animals," he said.
http://www.startribune.com/nation/65357647.html?elr=KArksLckD8EQDUoaEyqyP4O:DW3ckUiD3aPc:_Yyc:aUUsZ
(Submitted by D.R. Shoop)
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