Whale Washes up on Warrenton Beach
By Wendi Agalzoff-LaRue
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Photo by Lamping Photography
About 10:00 am Monday March 6th, 2017 a 36 foot sperm whale washed ashore about 2 miles north of the Peter Iredale Shipwreck. Staff from both Fort Stevens State Park and the Seaside Aquarium responded to the whale, took measurements and removed the lower jaw which was transferred to Portland State University for study.
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Photo by Lamping Photography
First observed on March 2nd off the coast of Newport, then March 5th west of Camp Rilea, Coast Guard drift models predicted the carcass to beach within Fort Stevens State Park between the shipwreck and the Columbia River Bar. Seaside Aquarium staff advised to ‘let nature take its course’ and allow the beach ecosystem, shorebirds, and raptors to benefit from the fatty-rich food. Birds such as bald eagles, western gulls, and fork-tailed storm-petrel can be observed scavenging and sipping pooled oil from around the whale.
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Photo by Seaside Aquarium Staff
Citizens are reminded that whales are protected by law and possession of whale bones is illegal.
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Photo by Seaside Aquarium Staff
