Dead whale that keeps floating onto shore cut up and dumped in landfill
- 8 years ago
ENCINITAS, CALIFORNIA — The body of a long-dead humpback whale has been towed to sea at least half a dozen times, but it just won’t stay put.
The San Diego Union-Tribune reports that the carcass is believed to be Wally the whale, who shot to viral video stardom last year after footage was released showing her appear to shoot rainbows out of her blowhole.
Wally first washed ashore in Dockweiler State Beach in Los Angeles County, just days before Fourth of July festivities. Lifeguards had to tow the 22-ton carcass back to sea so it wouldn’t decompose on the beach.
But Wally’s bloated body reappeared around four more Southern California beaches, floating near San Pedro, Newport Beach, Dana Point, and San Clemente, prompting officials there to pull the whale back out to the water each time.
By the time it washed up on Grandview Beach in Encinitas, the carcass was badly decayed and had to be cut up. Fox 5 reports that an attempt to haul off the rotting body on Sunday failed after two wheels broke on the heavy equipment being used due to the whale’s massive weight.
The next day, workers finally managed to transport the dead humpback’s remains to its final resting place — the Miramar landfill in San Diego, according to the Orange County Register.
The San Diego Union-Tribune reports that the carcass is believed to be Wally the whale, who shot to viral video stardom last year after footage was released showing her appear to shoot rainbows out of her blowhole.
Wally first washed ashore in Dockweiler State Beach in Los Angeles County, just days before Fourth of July festivities. Lifeguards had to tow the 22-ton carcass back to sea so it wouldn’t decompose on the beach.
But Wally’s bloated body reappeared around four more Southern California beaches, floating near San Pedro, Newport Beach, Dana Point, and San Clemente, prompting officials there to pull the whale back out to the water each time.
By the time it washed up on Grandview Beach in Encinitas, the carcass was badly decayed and had to be cut up. Fox 5 reports that an attempt to haul off the rotting body on Sunday failed after two wheels broke on the heavy equipment being used due to the whale’s massive weight.
The next day, workers finally managed to transport the dead humpback’s remains to its final resting place — the Miramar landfill in San Diego, according to the Orange County Register.