Two dead whales and “it was Mother Nature taking its course.” Really? Just like all the dead marine mammals washing up along the coast?

And there will be a lot more than dead whales when those nuclear waste containers crack open that are being buried on the beach at San Onofre.

From Orange County Register

Dead whale washed up at popular surf spot

by Laylan Connelly

April 24, 2016

A dead whale washed up Sunday on the cobblestone beach at Lower Trestles, a popular surf spot just south of San Clemente.

Todd Mansur, a boat captain for Dana Wharf Sportfishing & Whale Watching, said he has seen two dead whales off Orange County’s shoreline in recent days.

He said he saw the one that washed up at Trestles as it neared the water line, and the other one is expected to wash up at San Clemente State Beach in the next few days.

Both whales were estimated to be larger than 40 feet.

Mansur said that from what he saw, it was Mother Nature taking its course.

“It looked like nature. There were no marks from ships, no propeller marks, no abrasions, no entanglements,” he said.

Mansur was heading a whale watching charter and asked passengers how they felt about stopping to see the carcass.

“They were actually interested, kind of scientifically, about it. I really wanted to check it out to see if there was a reason of death,” he said.

He inspected it for about 15 minutes.

“It didn’t even look like it was a day dead,” he said.

Mansur said he has seen great white sharks eating whale carcasses.

And with the number of great whites sticking around Orange County’s coastline because of the warm El Niño waters, it might be a good idea for surfers to stay clear of the area for a while, he said.

The presence of other predators rises when dead animals are near, he said.

“You should always be worried when an animal of that magnitude is on the coastline,” Mansur said. “That element of the unknown can be there.”

Surfers were taking to social media to warn others about the whale. State lifeguards were not available to comment, so it was unclear what would be done with the whale carcass.

Contact the writer: lconnelly@ocregister.com

http://www.ocregister.com/articles/whale-713433-dead-carcass.html