Minke whale dies after days trapped in Long Beach harbor
Efforts to lure the whale back out to open waters were unsuccessful, according to National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration officials.
After days of lingering in the Long Beach harbor, a minke whale has died, officials confirmed Sunday.
The 24-foot-long subadult whale had been circling the area since at least Monday, according to video provided to the Watchdog by Visit Long Beach that day. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration confirmed that the whale died Sunday morning.
A team from the West Coast Marine Mammal Stranding Network examined the whale Sunday, according to Michael Milstein, a spokesperson for NOAA Fisheries West Coast region.
"The team examined the carcass for injuries and other health issues and collected blood and tissue samples," Milstein said. "They noted scrapes from rocks in the harbor, but found no obvious cause of death."
Blood and tissue samples will take several more weeks to analyze, he added.
Video recorded Monday showed the whale in Rainbow Harbor, backdropped by the Queen Mary and Lions Lighthouse. Other videos posted online show the whale swimming up Queensway Bay to Catalina Landing.
Efforts were made to lure the whale back out into open waters, according to the Milstein. On Thursday, NOAA staff worked with lifeguards and others to remove booms near the entrance of the basin to give the whale more space to exit, he said.
On Thursday and Friday, boats were used to generate noise in the hope of driving the whale out of the harbor area, Milstein said.
"The whale briefly swam out of the basin into the main channel out of the harbor but then reversed and returned," Milstein said, adding that the carcass was found "just outside the basin along the main channel out of the harbor."
"It is an unfortunate ending but we hope we can learn something from the exam and analysis about what happened to the whale and why."
The NOAA estimates there are about 900 minke whales living off the coasts of California, Oregon and Washington.
The incident comes as various wildlife agencies grapple with an ongoing harmful algal bloom off the Southern California coast that has stranded many marine mammals affected by domoic acid, Milstein said.
“They all are working as hard as they can already but they still took their time to help try to understand what happened to this whale,” said Justin Viezbicke, California Stranding Coordinator for NOAA Fisheries West Coast Region.
Editor's note: This story has been updated with additional information from the NOAA.
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