YACHATS, Ore. (KATU) — A gray whale washed up dead along the Oregon coastline on Sunday, more than a week after three other whales were also found dead in Southwest Washington.

At about 7:10 a.m. Sunday, Oregon Parks and Recreation Department staff learned that a roughly 40-foot-long Gray whale was stranded in the surf south of Forest Service Tillicum Beach Campground near Yachats.

The parks department let the Marine Mammal Stranding Network (MMSN) know about the whale, and a beach ranger went out to the scene.

The whale was confirmed to be dead, and parks officials said it appeared to have died several days before washing ashore. They are still working to establish a cause of death.

Oregon Parks & Rec put a safety perimeter around the whale, and MMSN staff has taken samples for further evaluation. The state has everything ready to bury the whale once their work is done.

“Visitors are urged to respect all barriers set by park rangers and avoid approaching the whale for their safety and to protect ongoing assessment efforts,” said Oregon Parks & Rec Dept. spokesperson Mike Baden.

RELATED | 3 Gray whales found dead in Washington, including 2 malnourished on Ocean Shores beach

On April 3, two dead Gray whales washed up in Ocean Shores, Washington. Both were malnourished and one, a male, had “significant trauma to the head” that could have been from being struck by a ship.

On April 4, a third juvenile Gray whale that had recently been seen in the Willapa River also died.

“Gray whales are generally solitary and do not travel in family groups; the timing and proximity of these strandings are considered to be most likely the result of general migration patterns, tides and currents,” the nonprofit Cascadia Research Collective said.