A look at the dead-whale-on-a-beach dilemma

[rockin'robin]

After a dead whale washed up on a beach in Malibu, Cailf., near Bob Dylan's home it wasn't long before a foul smell was blowin' in the wind and residents were demanding answers. Although dead whales don't often arrive in wealthy neighborhoods, they do come ashore on beaches across the country fairly frequently. Getting rid of them is often not easy.

WHO IS RESPONSIBLE FOR GETTING RID OF A DEAD WHALE?

In this case there is disagreement, because the 41-foot mammal ended up on a private beach. Malibu officials say they aren't sure who should haul it away. The Los Angeles County Department of Beaches and Harbors says it isn't responsible because the whale is on private property, meaning it's up to the owners to get rid of it.

CAN LOS ANGELES COUNTY LIFEGUARDS HAUL IT AWAY?

Maybe, but that agency says it may big too big for one of its Baywatch boats to handle. They say it could require a tugboat like those used to guide giant ships in and out of ocean harbors. The lifeguards have indicated they'll try when the tide is right.

WHY DO WHALES WASH UP ON BEACHES?

Experts say some simply die of natural causes. Others become ill. Some seem to have gotten confused and lost their way. This one, a young fin whale, appears to have been hit by a ship because its spine was damaged and its back contained a large gash. A 47-foot whale found dead on a beach at the Point Reyes National Seashore suffered a similar fate in June.

HOW DO AUTHORITIES DISPOSE OF A DEAD WHALE?

Experts recommend either using a boat big enough to haul it away at high tide or burying it in the sand. The first option requires dragging it far enough so that it won't float back. The second requires large, expensive digging equipment. Sometimes, if the whale ends up on a deserted beach and not anywhere near a wealthy neighborhood, authorities can just leave it there for nature to take its course. That's what they did with a 30-foot gray whale that washed up on a beach near San Simeon last April.

HOW AUTHORITIES SHOULDN'T DISPOSE OF A DEAD WHALE:

By blowing it up. They tried that on a 41-foot sperm whale that washed up on a beach in Florence, Ore., in 1970. The blast rained blubber down on spectators a quarter mile away, including one chunk so large it crushed a car. The effort did result in a dramatic video that can be found on Youtube, however.

A look at the dead-whale-on-a-beach dilemma - Yahoo! News

 

[dereksbicycles]

If someone can afford to buy a house on beach, then they can afford to find a way to get rid of whale themselves!! Common sense!!!

 

[rockin'robin]

I got a ...out of that 41-foot Sperm Whale they blew up in 1970 !....Don't feel anyone will do that again....shyt went everywhere!

And the residents living on the beach don't own the ocean....so No, I don't feel they should be responsible for disposing this whale....The Whale was sort of "trespassing"...

Can imagine the stench...very gross.

 

[shimo]

On a similar note, I've always wondered who takes care of the deer when they die in the middle of the road. Some people have told me you can report it to a non-emergency police phone number. Others have told me that it must be reported to the department of transportation. And some have told me it's my job to drag it off the road so that other cars are safe.

Fortunately I have not been responsible for incapacitating a deer, but I wonder...

 

[rockin'robin]

A deer would be much too heavy for me to drag off the road, and a lot of people just pick them up into their trucks, take them home and eat the meat.

I've pulled over many times to drag cats or small dogs off the road tho', after someone hit them and just kept on going....

It really angers me to see people running over cats and dogs, leaving them there for other people to run over them again and again.....

 

[Foxrac]

A deer would be much too heavy for me to drag off the road, and a lot of people just pick them up into their trucks, take them home and eat the meat.

I've pulled over many times to drag cats or small dogs off the road tho', after someone hit them and just kept on going....

It really angers me to see people running over cats and dogs, leaving them there for other people to run over them again and again.....

In bold - that's not easy to avoid for some people because some animals made last minute to cross the road so not have chance to make stop before hit. My father already run over the cat after attempt to completely stop but failed to save cat's life because cat was cross at very last minute.

I never run over the animals but I almost did to dog because the dog crossed at last minute, so really closer and I have to apply brake so hard and ruined the braking pad, but dog's life was saved, eventually, he died in few hours later because other car run over the dog.

 

[caz12]

risk of offending anyone give it to japan,they happy killing them for scientific reasons and that more than offends rest of world sure they be happy make sushi out of poor animal.

 

[rockin'robin]

In bold - that's not easy to avoid for some people because some animals made last minute to cross the road so not have chance to make stop before hit. My father already run over the cat after attempt to completely stop but failed to save cat's life because cat was cross at very last minute.

I never run over the animals but I almost did to dog because the dog crossed at last minute, so really closer and I have to apply brake so hard and ruined the braking pad, but dog's life was saved, eventually, he died in few hours later because other car run over the dog.

Let me rephrase that, Foxrac...what I really meant was...it's true, that some animals run into the road and get hit by a car/truck and it cannot be avoided.....an accident....but so many people just keep on driving, not pulling over to see if the animal is still alive and can be taken to the hospital...or if the animal is dead...then they need to drag it off the road, and call Animal Control to pick it up...and if the animal has a Collar with tags and ID, then try to find the owner(s)....

So many people just leave the animal in the road...and other cars run over it...again and again....and again!...We don't do that with Humans....and a lot of times, that animal could be someone's Pet that got loose and was scared, trying to find their way home....

Then again, there is a word of caution about trying to help an injured animal, as some will bite you because they are in pain.....But if you are the person that hit and ran over the animal, I feel it's your responsibility to get it off the road and call Animal Control.

 

[rockin'robin]

Rotting whale in Malibu likely left to nature

MALIBU, Calif. (AP) — No government agency is taking action to remove the decaying carcass of a whale on a California beach, making it appear the job will be left to Mother Nature.

The corpse of the huge fin whale created a spectacle on Friday as people wandered down the narrow Malibu beach to look at the remains — white bones, rolls of blubber and the tail flukes trailing along the water's edge.

The homes of movie stars, celebrities and others line the cliffs high above the slender beach.

Looking over the whale, Malibu resident Ben Dossett suggested there was now no need to try to remove it.

"You look at the difference between what it was on Tuesday to what it is today. I think they can just leave it and let nature take its course," he said.

The smell had largely faded away, but still attached to the shoes of those who came near. Some people took pictures, a boy poked the bones and dogs sniffed it.

"It's really sad that this is my first time seeing a whale," saidIngrid De La O, a Malibu resident. "It's mind-boggling to see this immense huge thing that lives in the water."

The 40-foot-long, 40,000-pound juvenile male washed ashore Monday near Point Dume, which marks the western end of Santa Monica Bay, about 30 miles west of downtown Los Angeles.

"From the evidence that we have so far, it appears that it was hit by a ship," said Jonsie Ross, marine mammal coordinator for the California Wildlife Center.

James Respondek, a real estate agent who lives in the area, worried that the carcass would draw sharks that could pose a threat to his young daughter, who swims in the cove, and to his favorite surfing spot down the beach. He said he was frustrated that no agency would remove the carcass.

"There seems to be no readiness to take responsibility, to take action, just a lot of excuses. 'I don't have a boat, I don't have the money, I don't have the resources,' they all told me," he said.

Fin whales are endangered, and about 2,300 live along the West Coast. They're the second-largest species of whale after blue whales and can grow up to 85 feet, weigh up to 80 tons and live to be 90 years old.

Rotting whale in Malibu likely left to nature - Yahoo! News