Beached humpback whale mystifies scientists

LONGVIEW, Wash. – Scientists have not yet been able to determine what killed a humpback whale that washed up last week on the Long Beach Peninsula.

John Calambokidis, a biologist with Olympia’s Cascadia Research, said there were no propeller marks or other obvious wounds on the animal, and internal organs had started to decompose by the time scientists cut the whale open.

Scientists were still waiting for the results of some tissue tests.

The 50-foot female, which had been dead for a few days before washing ashore Thursday, was buried on the beach by a state parks department crew.

It’s unusual for a humpback to wash ashore in Washington because the whales usually stay well off the coast.