A humpback whale that spent Saturday tumbling in the surf off the coast near Yachats, tangled in fishing gear, washed ashore alive in the evening and was still reported alive early Sunday, according to posts on social media.
Earlier in the day, spectators described what they believed was a dead whale slowly rolling toward shore. But by Saturday evening, accounts of a live humpback stranded on the beach head spread quickly across Facebook and Reddit, prompting people from around Oregon to drive to the shoreline in an impromptu rescue effort.
Photos and videos show a crowd gathered near the whale with phone flashlights, lanterns, blankets, shovels and wetsuits early Sunday as people poured buckets of seawater over the animal. Multiple people on the scene alleged a bystander had managed to cut away fishing ropes or crab gear trapped on the animal.
Oregon State Police is advising people to stay away from the whale and clearing vehicles deemed to be a “hazard.”
The Yachats stranding comes on the heels of a juvenile humpback found starved to death on the beach at Neskowin last week, more than 60 miles to the north.
If people encounter a stranded or dead whale or other large marine mammal on the Oregon coast, officials say they should not approach, touch or attempt to move the animal. Instead, they should report it to the Oregon Marine Mammal Stranding Network by calling the NOAA West Coast Marine Mammal Stranding Hotline at 1-866-767-6114, or contact Oregon State Police, who can route the report to stranding responders.
Julie Conrad, with the Oregon Coast Killer Whale Monitoring Program, posted on Facebook Sunday morning urging people to avoid the area. She said the Marine Mammal Stranding Network was aware of the situation.
“While people may have the best intentions, they could cause more harm than good and they’re putting themselves and first responders in danger,” Conrad wrote.
Live strandings of large whales on the Oregon Coast are rare. In September 2020, a 38-foot sei whale came ashore south of Bandon alive but died later that night. In August 2019, a juvenile humpback stranded alive on the beach north of Waldport and was euthanized the following day.
Saturday’s live whale arrived on the eve of the 55th Exploding Whale Memorial Celebration in Florence on Sunday. The community event commemorates the day in 1970 when a dead sperm whale washed ashore near Florence and engineers with the Oregon Highway Division, unsure how to dispose of the 8-ton carcass, decided to blow it up with 20 cases of dynamite — a spectacular explosion that sent whale blubber raining down on spectators, cars and nearby dunes on Nov. 12, 1970.
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