A dead fin whale was discovered on Sunset Beach near Warrenton on the Oregon coast Feb. 7.
Jim Riley, 65, of Tualatin was beach combing just before dawn when he came across the carcass. There was an apparent bite mark on its tale, Riley said. He found some of the marine mammal’s intestines scattered up to 100 yards north and south of the animal.
“It was barely visible because the breakers were coming in,” Riley said. “It was definitely dead upon arrival.”
He found the whale at about 6:59 a.m. and immediately called the Oregon Parks and Recreation Department and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s fisheries department. A NOAA spokesperson confirmed the fin whale had been reported to the agency.
Portland State University and the Seaside Aquarium are also responding to the incident.
“Fin whales are less common but have stranded in Oregon before, including one in the same area just about two years ago,” NOAA spokesperson Michael Milstein said. “That was the first in several years.”
Riley, who regularly visits the coast to comb the beaches for garbage and debris, knows hows how rare it is for fin whales to wash up in Oregon. In fact, he discovered the last one.
“For some reason, whales just like to come up while I’m around,” Riley said.
Eder Campuzano is the local news editor for the Statesman Journal. He can be reached at ecampuzano@statesmanjournal.com. Find him on Bluesky at @ederc.bsky.social or Threads @ederc.
This article originally appeared on Salem Statesman Journal: Dead fin whale washes up on Oregon coast, second since 2024
Reporting by Eder Campuzano, Salem Statesman Journal / Salem Statesman Journal
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