What’s going to happen Tuesday to the carcass of Wally the wayward whale?
The smelly mass of dead whale meat almost washed up on shore Sunday in Newport Beach, and lifeguards spent the day towing it back out to sea. But then it washed back towards shore and lifeguards did it all over again Monday.
Now, depending on the winds and currents, the 45-foot, 22-ton humpback whale carcass could yet again wash back up somewhere in Newport Beach.
If the carcass of Wally the Whale washing ashore sounds familiar, it’s because this is the same giant, odiferous carcass that came ashore June 30 at Dockweiler State Beach in Los Angeles County near Los Angeles International Airport.
As crowds and TV crews watched at the time, the carcass of the whale was towed off the sand and out to sea, supposedly to sink and be devoured by ocean animals.
But that’s not quite how it worked out.’
The carcass drifted back towards another Southern California beach, this time to Orange County’s Newport Beach, according to city spokeswoman Tara Finnigan.
Newport Beach lifeguards towed the carcass about 12 miles off shore, but the currents carried it back to Newport, Finnigan said. The lifeguards were again trying to tow it back out to sea, but this time farther out.
The trick is finding a location that the lifeguards hope doesn’t lead the carcass to drift back into another jurisdiction or interfere with shipping lanes, Finnigan said.
Lifeguard Battalion Chief Mike Halphide told the Los Angeles Times that towing the rotting carcass to sea was difficult.
“Just the size and the bloat and the smell was something,” he said.
The whale had been dubbed Wally when it was alive and being tracked by ocean experts.
–Staff and wire reports