Mysterious whale washes up dead on California beach — and scientists are puzzled

A mystery turned up on Northern California’s Mendocino County coast, when a passerby found the carcass of what appeared to be a monstrous dolphin.

The 16-foot-long creature, first reported May 15, has been identified as a rarely seen beaked whale, according to the Noyo Center for Marine Science in Fort Bragg, California.

However, so little is known about beaked whales that experts have yet to determine the exact species of beaked whale they found.

The cause of death also remains a mystery.

“Beaked whales are a fascinating and elusive group,” the center wrote in a May 16 Facebook post. “(They) live in deep water environments, and are known to dive deeper than any other marine mammal, making them mysterious and difficult to find or study.”

The whale was discovered by a passerby at Jug Handle State Natural Reserve just south of Fort Bragg, the SFGate reported.

Finding one on a beach is so rare, the Noyo Center quickly sent a team to conduct “a necropsy to collect samples and information ... essential in understanding more about these rare creatures.”

Researchers are still visiting the site as of May 19, collecting data, according to Trey Petrey, the center’s interpretive facilities manager.

Experts may ultimately need to do a DNA analysis on the whale to determine its species, he said. There are 22 known species of beaked whale, according to the North Atlantic Marine Mammal Commission.

Beaked whales are a mystery because they seldom come close to shore and avoid boats, making them “very difficult to observe, let alone identify at sea,” the commission reports. “Some species have never been observed at sea and most are best known from strandings.”

As for the resemblance to a dolphin, beaked whales are in the cetacean order that includes whales, dolphins and porpoises, the center reports.

Researchers found evidence of trauma near the dead whale’s jaw, Petrey says, but they’re still determining what caused it and if the injury had anything to do with the whale’s death.

The Noyo Center for Marine Science responds to reports of dead marine mammals on the Mendocino Coast, from the Gualala to Rockport, as part of the Marine Mammal Stranding Network. It can be reached at 707-813-7925. The center’s work is done under a license in partnership with California Academy of Sciences.

This story was originally published May 19, 2022 at 4:42 PM with the headline "Mysterious whale washes up dead on California beach — and scientists are puzzled."