The Latest: Dead whale at LA-area beach towed back to sea

LOS ANGELES – The Latest on a dead humpback whale that washed onto a Los Angeles County beach (all times local):

9:15 p.m.

A dead humpback whale that washed ashore on a Los Angeles County beach has been towed back out to sea.

The humpback, known to whale watchers as Wally, was towed out at high tide on Friday night, about 24 hours after first coming ashore at Dockweiler Beach. An earlier attempt at the tow-out failed because the tide was too low.

A National Marine Fisheries Service official said the whale is around 45 feet long and at least 15 years old, meaning it had just reached maturity.

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2:20 p.m.

Experts have identified a dead humpback whale that washed up onto a Los Angeles County beach.

A whale researcher with the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County says unique tail markings match photos of a humpback that was spotted three times off Southern California between June and August last year.

Whale watchers gave it the nickname Wally.

A National Marine Fisheries Service official says the whale is around 45 feet long and at least 15 years old, meaning it had just reached maturity.

The whale washed ashore on Dockweiler Beach Thursday night on the eve of the Fourth of July weekend.

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6:39 a.m.

Los Angeles County lifeguards say a dead humpback whale has washed ashore at Dockweiler Beach.

The whale floated in just before 8 p.m. Thursday.

The whale is approximately 40 feet long and is believed to have been between 10 to 30 years old.

Marine animal authorities will try to determine why the animal died.

It’s not the same whale that was spotted Monday off Southern California entangled in crab pot lines. The entangled animal is a blue whale.