echeng 0 Posted October 12, 2010 Yesterday, I drove down to Bean Hollow State Beach (just south of Pescadero Beach at 37.227072, -122.410529) to see the dead 80-foot blue whale that washed ashore last Tuesday. Scientists found at least three fractured vertebrae and hemorrhaging in the whale’s belly, concluding that she may have died as a result of a strike from a large boat. A 6-month old fetus was ejected at some point during the last moments of the whale’s life and was found not far from its 75-ton mother. The baby was pure white — beautiful, really, and a stark contrast to the black rocks upon which it rested... The carcass of a dead 80-foot blue whale (Balaenoptera musculus) in northern California. Scientists suspect the whale was struck by a large boat before beaching itself. The whale ejected a fetus before she died. The fetus was on the beach not far from the mother. A 6-month old blue whale fetus lies in the rocks at Bean Hollow State Beach More images here: http://echeng.com/journal/2010/10/11/dead-...le-boat-strike/ I saw Jason Bradley there, who was there during early morning light. I'm sure his images are great. In response to these dead whale image, Howard Hall sent me a RED frame grab of a blue whale. INCREDIBLE. I hope he posts a video short. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
echeng 0 Posted October 12, 2010 This is interesting. My friend Dave posted a few images from the beached blue in this area 30 years ago: http://www.flickr.com/photos/davidmerrill/...57625146855716/ Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
sterlingz 0 Posted October 12, 2010 Intense and sad. What a sight to see. Stunning images. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
gassa 0 Posted October 15, 2010 A blue whale was found dead in Iceland late in this summer...always terrible to see! Click here! Gassa Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
yahsemtough 0 Posted October 16, 2010 Thanks for sharing but certainly sad to see. Todd Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
gina 9 Posted November 17, 2010 I am a volunteer at the California Academy of Sciences and one of my jobs is to clean bones for the Academy's collection. Last week I worked on some of the vertebrae collected from this female blue whale. Some of the bones were bruised, indicating a severe trauma that occurred while the animal was still alive. Others were broken. I've included some cameraphone photos in case anyone is interested: blue whale vertebrae by g-na, on Flickr blue whale vertebrae by g-na, on Flickr Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
