Dead juvenile grey whale washes up on Portuguese Beach

SANTA ROSA, Calif. – The carcass of a 28-foot juvenile grey whale washed on Portuguese Beach this weekend.

The Press Democrat reports (http://bit.ly/1ITcFwQ ) that park officials say the whale came ashore on the Sonoma Coast on Friday night or Saturday morning.

California State Parks Ranger Damien Jones says the whale was decomposing and seemed to have been dead for some time. He says the marine Mammal Center took a tissue sample in an attempt to determine the cause of death.

Jones says the animal does not appear to have been killed by trauma, like being struck by a ship.

State Parks plans to leave the whale on the beach, expecting the tide to carry it back out to sea.

May is the end of the season for grey whale migration from Mexico to Alaska.

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Information from: The Santa Rosa Press Democrat, http://www.pressdemocrat.com

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