Dead humpback whale washes ashore on Oregon coast

MANZANITA, Ore. (KTVZ) – A dead humpback whale washed ashore Monday morning at Nehalem State Park near Manzanita, the Oregon Parks and Recreation Department confirmed.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) is working to determine the cause of death, but results may not be available for a week, OPRD said.

The whale washed ashore about a mile north of the north Nehalem jetty, near a management area for the western snowy plover, the agency said. Oregon’s beaches are protected nesting grounds for the small shorebird, meaning no access is allowed to the beach from the dry sand area, where signs are posted and pets are not allowed.

OPRD advised beachgoers to watch for special signs or fences during nesting season, March 15-Sept. 15, and to follow the rules to help protect snowy plovers.

There have been multiple dead whales that have beached along the Oregon coast in the past year-and-a-half, KGW reported. In February, a young fin whale washed up on Sunset Beach in Warrenton, near Astoria. In January 2023, three dead whales washed up on the Oregon coast within a span of a week; two of them were gray whales, the other was a 40-foot sperm whale.