Crews Attempt Rescue Of Beached Baby Whale Off Marin County Coast
MARIN COUNTY (CBS SF) – Crews are attempting to rescue a beached baby whale off the Marin County coast Thursday afternoon.
The pygmy sperm whale is currently located on the beach at Abbotts Lagoon, which is west of Tomales Bay.
According to Bay City News Service, National Park Service rangers planned to move the whale above the tide line late Thursday afternoon so it would not wash out to sea. The area is remote and not safely accessible after dark, and the Marine Mammal Center and California Academy of Sciences plan to retrieve the whale Friday morning.
In photos from Sacramento news station News 10, it appears the whale may have suffered a severe injury.
PHOTOS: Pygmy sperm whale beached on Marin County shore - http://t.co/Ke9oSvBVCj (photo) pic.twitter.com/SDEubM5qIC
— ABC10 (@ABC10) January 9, 2015
The pygmy sperm whale is known for a white underbelly and blunt head. Like its cousin, the actual sperm whale, it has teeth in its lower jaw and just a few teeth in the upper jaw, according to the American Cetacean Society.
At first it looks like a great white shark, but its horizontal tail fin indicates it's definitely a marine mammal.
MORE: http://acsonline.org/fact-sheets/pygmy-sperm-whale/