Dead humpback whale washes ashore near Manzanita, prompting warnings

Authorities are urging people to avoid part of Oregon's northern coast after a dead humpback whale washed up Monday morning.

The whale landed on the sand at Nehalem Bay State Park just south of Manzanita, prompting warnings from the Oregon Department of Parks and Recreation, the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife. Oregon and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

All three agencies issued warnings Monday on social media posts as well as on beach signs. The area where the whale washed up is also a protected area for snowy plovers, an endangered species, making it particularly vulnerable to intrusion.

“We are asking people to stay away from the carcass so that it is not disturbed,” Michael Milstein, a spokesman for NOAA Fisheries, said Monday. “We intend to conduct an initial examination today to see what we can learn about the possible cause of death.”

The dead whale comes as authorities are still busy investigating the source of a mysterious tar-like substance that has washed up on Oregon beaches and is endangering wildlife. On Monday, the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife said the substance had been determined to be petroleum-based, but provided no further details, as responders continue to examine beaches in Oregon and Washington.

Department spokeswoman Beth Quillian said investigators were aware of the dead whale but had not determined whether there was a connection to the tar-like substance.

“We won’t know the cause of death for at least a week,” Quillian said.

Dead whales are certainly not uncommon on the Oregon Coast. Besides the recent spate of dead gray whales, ocean beaches have long been a haven for expired marine animals, including sharks, sea lions, and all manner of strange fish.

It's also not unusual to see humpback whales off the coast of Oregon at this time of year, Milstein said, because the whales are currently migrating north from their breeding grounds in Central America , some passing along the Pacific coast.

Dead whales are often left to rot on the beach, as their carcasses provide food for eagles and other scavengers. The dead humpback whale at Nehalem Bay is located in a more remote part of the state park, officials said, a short walk from the nearest access road.

–Jamie Hale covers travel and the outdoors and co-hosts the Peak Northwest podcast. Contact him at 503-294-4077, [email protected] or @HaleJamesB.

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