Beached whale dies in Seaside, Ore.

08/11/03 | KGW Staff

[bedolido]

SEASIDE, Ore. - A huge whale died after beaching up near Seaside, Ore., over the weekend.

When the mammal beached up Sunday during a volleyball tournament, it was alive, and beachgoers tried to push it back into the water. But police stopped them, fearing that someone would be injured by the thrashing animal.

Police arrested three people who refused to move away from the huge whale.

Marine mammal experts believe the whale likely overheated from the sun beating down on its dark skin.

The 33-foot-long mammal was set to be removed from the beach Monday morning and taken to another location for a necropsy.

A large crane towed the dead whale to shore. (KGW Photo) A Portland State University marine biologist will lead the research on the Baird's beaked whale. A large crane was brought in to move the whale closer to shore so experts could safely perform tests Sunday Baird's beaked whales are found in the north Pacific Ocean and typically spend summers close to shore. The species is most commonly seen around Japan, central California and off Vancouver Island in Canada

[bedolido]

[camle]

you mean they didn't blow it up? That's their usual MO, ain't it?

[snippy_about_it]

ruh-roh!

Okay, roll tape.!

[camle]

You asked fer it:-)

[Semper Paratus]

What did they expect it to do?

[camle]

see #4. follow the link.

[theDentist]

There is no whale of a problem that cannot be resolved with the proper placement of high explosives.

[Hatteras]

Think you used enough dynamite there, Butch?!

[bedolido]

I was living in Portland when they blew up the other whale... It's blow'd up real guuud!!!

[mhking]

You can't talk about beached whales in Oregon without talking about the exploding whale!

Just damn.

If you want on the new list, FReepmail me. This IS a high-volume PING list...

[bedolido]

thanks... I love it!

[King Prout]

I see that, and I think of "Tremors" for some reason

[snippy_about_it]

The first time I saw this (thanks to my friend SAMWolf and to Darksheare), I could hardly believe my eyes. So funny!

Who would even think that someone would imagine this could be done safely and with minimal clean-up!

Thanks camle, you knew just what I was talking about! LOL!

[Bikers4Bush]

Now I'm left to decide if that fact that I was amused by that (the movie) makes me a bad person.

[camle]

it's a classic! I was scanning the local paper oen day several years back when i espied this article. been a Dave Barry fan ever since.

[petuniasevan]

beachgoers tried to push it back into the water. But police stopped them, fearing that someone would be injured by the thrashing animal

Some people are so stupid. The cops were right to clear those persons away from the whale, by arrest if necessary. Cheaper than the rescue and subsequent emergency room bill (or undertaker's fees) that would result if the whale flipped its tail and just *nudged* someone.

Trying to PUSH the whale back into the water? What were those people thinking, anyway? At 33 feet long the whale probably weighed in around 8 TONS.

[blackdog]

Let any cop get in the way of my attempt at doing what I think is the right thing to do as a human being and he'll have to be one big-badass cop or be willing to shoot me.

What, do we have municipal union only beached whale contractors now?

They pulled that crap on me when I lived in Florida. We were helping an inured turltle(huge) which had been hit by a propeller into a kiddie pool until the local university marine biologists could get there, who we had called. The local cops tried to remove us from the beach. As our voices and posture grew and were drawing additional public support, the cops sat in their cars quietly until the university rehab gang showed.

They would have shot it and celebrated with all the weed they get washed up on the beaches.

With all the dead whale problems Oregon seems to have, might I suggest those farmers in the midwest who make those pumpkin catapaults sketch out some plans for an Orca Orbiter? It would be way cool to launch twenty ton whales back out past the breakwater if they wash up dead.

[SAMWolf]

Darn beat me to it!

[blackdog]

That whale detonation was the light bulb for Saddam's prefered method of cleaning up live, breathing political problems in Iraq.

[slouper]

Am I the only one thinking bar-b-que on the beach?