{"id":435758,"date":"2026-02-20T08:15:10","date_gmt":"2026-02-20T08:15:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/435758\/"},"modified":"2026-02-20T08:15:10","modified_gmt":"2026-02-20T08:15:10","slug":"dead-11-ton-humpback-whale-washes-up-on-california-beach-as-officials-warn-locals-to-stay-away-its-massive","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/435758\/","title":{"rendered":"Dead, 11-ton humpback whale washes up on California beach as officials warn locals to stay away: \u2018It\u2019s massive\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"

Your support helps us to tell the story<\/p>\n

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it’s investigating the financials of Elon Musk’s pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, ‘The A Word’, which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.<\/p>\n

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.<\/p>\n

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.<\/p>\n

Your support makes all the difference.Read more<\/p>\n

A dead, 11-ton humpback whale <\/a>washed onto a popular beach in California this week, prompting officials to warn locals to stay away from its \u201cmassive\u201d carcass. <\/a><\/p>\n

A massive 29-foot whale carcass washed ashore on a bustling portion of Newport Beach, located about 45 miles south of Los Angeles,<\/a> on Wednesday afternoon, a Pacific Marine Mammal Center spokesperson told The Independent Thursday. <\/p>\n

The subadult whale weighs approximately 11 tons, or 23,000 pounds, the center said. <\/p>\n

Dangerous ocean conditions and strong winds on Wednesday prevented crews from immediately removing the whale from the beach. <\/p>\n

\u201cThe stormy ocean conditions and rising tide make the whale a public safety concern, as the large body could roll onto bystanders who are too close,\u201d the Pacific Marine Mammal Center said in a statement. <\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

open image in gallery<\/p>\n

A dead whale washed ashore Wednesday at a popular stretch of Newport Beach, California, prompting officials to warn locals to stay away from the massive carcass (KTLA)<\/p>\n

In addition to being a safety concern, humpback whales are a protected species under the Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972, which requires the public to stay at least 100 yards or 300 feet away at all times. <\/p>\n

\u201cThe salvage boat can\u2019t even do it because the weather is still extreme out in the outer water, and it\u2019s too dangerous to tow,\u201d Newport Beach Lifeguard Chief Brian O\u2019Rourke told the Orange County Register. <\/a><\/p>\n

Officials hope higher tides and an upcoming storm system could pull the whale back out to sea. But if that does not happen, crews may need to cut the animal into sections to haul it away. \u201cWe\u2019re working on a plan to dispose of it,\u201d O\u2019Rourke told the outlet. \u201cFor it to just decay on the beach would cause a lot of different problems.\u201d <\/p>\n

Authorities also warned the public to stay at least 200 feet away from the massive carcass, noting the whale\u2019s body could shift unexpectedly in the surf. <\/p>\n

\u201cJust please stay away from it right now until we can get the salvage disposal of the whale underway,\u201d O\u2019Rourke said. \u201cIt\u2019s massive; there could be some danger to the public, it\u2019s rolling away from the surfline.\u201d <\/p>\n

\u201cIt could cause damage, even crush them,\u201d he warned. \u201cThat\u2019s a possibility in a dangerous situation.\u201d <\/p>\n

\"Sighting<\/p>\n

open image in gallery<\/p>\n

Sighting of humpback whales are common along the California coast (Getty\/iStock)<\/p>\n

The cause of the whale\u2019s death is currently unknown. <\/p>\n

Staff with the Pacific Marine Mammal Center will do a preliminary assessment followed by a necropsy, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration spokesman Michael Milstein told the Orange County Register. <\/p>\n

Plans to remove the whale remain up in the air as officials monitor ocean conditions and the weather. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Your support helps us to tell the story From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":435759,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[26],"tags":[90,56,54,55,4407],"class_list":["post-435758","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-wildlife","tag-science","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-unitedkingdom","tag-wildlife"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/435758","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=435758"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/435758\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/435759"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=435758"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=435758"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=435758"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}