A minke whale that was spotted by locals last week in the shallow waters of Long Beach’s Rainbow Harbor was found dead, and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Fisheries is working to determine a cause of death.
The whale was discovered dead Sunday morning, and NOAA Fisheries was examining the body for potential injuries or illnesses, according to media reports.
Justin Viezbicke of NOAA Fisheries told KTLA 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 told KTLA.
Last week, crowds of people had come to the harbor to look at the whale, a rare sight in the shallow waters, and many followed along with news coverage about the spectacle, but concern soon mounted. On Thursday, harbor crews on boats were seen maneuvering booms in the water in an apparent effort to guide the whale back toward the ocean.
Minke whales are small whales that grow up to about 35 feet and are largely found near the West Coast of North America.