Stranding ID: MLMLMM2501

Species: Gray whale (Eschrichtius robustus)

Date: January 16, 2012

Location: Moss Landing, Salinas River State Beach

Sex: Female

Length: 4 meters

Stranding response: This gray whale calf live stranded in Moss Landing and following medical assessment by Dr. David Casper of Long Marine Lab (LML) was deemed too unhealthy for release or rehabilitation. The whale was humanely euthanized and necropsied by the MLML and LML stranding networks. The small and underdeveloped calf was deemed premature, which likely contributed to its stranding and subsequent death.

Research Contribution: The complete head from this animal was recovered and transferred to the San Diego Museum of Natural History for dissection. The results of this study were published in The Anatomical Record.

Ekdale, E. G., Deméré, T. A., & Berta, A. (2015). Vascularization of the gray whale palate (Cetacea, Mysticeti, Eschrichtius robustus): soft tissue evidence for an alveolar source of blood to baleen. The Anatomical Record, 298(4), 691-702.

All activities permitted by the National Marine Fisheries Service