December 23, 2016 • Seaside Signal • seasidesignal.com • 3A
Stillborn whale washes ashore
Gray whale first landed
ashore in Gearhart
By R.J. Marx
Seaside Signal
A gray whale calf washed
ashore Monday, Dec. 12, in
Gearhart but drifted back
out to sea, leaving only its
intestines. Two days later, it
washed back up at 16th Ave-
nue in Seaside.
Because of the time of
year and its size, the 10-foot-
long whale was most likely
stillborn, Tiffany Boothe of
Seaside Aquarium said.
According to Boothe, gray
whales migrate past the Or-
egon Coast on their way to
breeding grounds in Mexico.
SUBMITTED PHOTO
A propane truck crashed on Highway 26 on Friday, Dec. 9.
The driver did not suffer life-threatening injuries.
The whale had been
heavily scavenged
upon by sharks before
washing ashore as a
result of what Boothe
said was ‘a lot of local
shark activity.’
The whale had been heav-
ily scavenged upon by sharks
before washing ashore as a
result of what Boothe said
was “a lot of local shark ac-
tivity.”
A 38-foot humpback
whale that drifted ashore in
Cape Falcon earlier this year
was pulled back to sea before
researchers could arrive to
conduct a necropsy.
The whale eventually
landed on the north end of
Short Sand Beach in Oswald
West State Park. The cause of
that whale’s death was incon-
clusive.
This week, a similar scene
was re-enacted in Gearhart.
A necropsy had been
scheduled, but the whale dis-
appeared off the beach.
Two days later, the whale
washed back onto the beach
in Seaside and the necropsy
was conducted.
Visually there were no
SUBMITTED PHOTO
Hazmat truck responds to the rollover.
Hazmat cleanup on
Highway 26 forced
6-mile road closure
Seaside Signal
TIFFANY BOOTHE/SEASIDE AQUARIUM
Gray whale carcass in Gearhart. It later washed out to sea.
signs that pointed to the cause
of death. “Closer analysis of
the heart and lungs will be
done back at the lab to deter-
mine if the animal was indeed
a stillborn,” Boothe said.
Like the humpback that
washed ashore at Falcon
Cove in September and then
washed back out the next day
leaving only kidneys behind,
the only evidence that this
calf had been on Gearhart
beach was a small isolated
pile of intestines, Boothe said.
Researchers believe the
carcass is heading north, but
will be hard to follow while
drifting. Since it is not bloat-
ed, it may sink instead of
float.
Gray whale migration is
an approximately 10,000-
mile round trip, Boothe said,
from their feeding grounds
in the Arctic to their birthing
and nursery grounds in Mex-
ico.
The fall migration usually
takes place from October to
February and the spring mi-
gration usually takes place
from March to July, although
sometimes as late as Septem-
ber.
“We did try to secure the
animal when it first washed
in, but even though it was a
very small whale we were
still unable to pull it up high-
er on the beach,” Boothe
said.
A propane truck crash on
U.S. Highway 26 Friday, Dec.
9, snarled traffic and caused
delays.
The road was opened in all
directions by the end of the day.
The crash occurred 4 miles
east of the Necanicum Junction
at milepost 13.
The Oregon Department of
Transportation had closed the
highway from milepost 12 to
18.
Oregon State Police, the
Department of Transportation
and fire departments from
Hamlet and Elsie responded to
the scene.
Four Elsie Fire and Rescue
personnel responded to a 911
report of a vehicle rollover
at 9:56 a.m. “As things pro-
gressed, we were notified it
was a delivery truck with more
than 80 percent of its load on
board leaking propane,” Elsie
Fire and Rescue’s Diane Jette
said.
The hazardous material
response required a half-mile
evacuation, Jette said.
Responders found the truck
rolled over and leaking pro-
pane and shut the highway
down.
Medix transported the
driver, who did not sustain
life-threatening
injuries.
Hazmat teams were called
to manage the propane leak.
Crews from Suburban Pro-
pane and Hillsboro towing
righted the damaged vehicle
and cleared the highway, while
Hamlet firefighters provided
water coverage.
Highway 26 was closed to
traffic for about six hours.
COM ING IN FEBR UAR Y!
20 17 EDITIO N
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