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Dead Gray Whale Washes Ashore At Limantour Beach

POINT REYES (CBS SF) -- A dead gray whale was spotted Monday on Limantour Beach at Point Reyes National Seashore.

KPIX 5 meteorologist Darren Peck sent in video showing the whale carcass on the beach.

Rangers tell KPIX the grey whale was discovered Monday morning. Researchers will perform a necropsy Tuesday.

This makes the sixth dead whale to be found in the Bay Area in the past two months.

Over the weekend, dramatic footage was shot showing a group of killer whales methodically isolating and killing a gray whale calf passing through Monterey Bay with its mother.

The graphic attack was captured in its entirety on video by Monterey Bay Whale Watch, a company that organizes whale-watching excursions for groups led by marine experts.

The company posted the video on Facebook with a warning, and says this is the first time an attack was caught on video from start to finish.

In the clip, a small pod of killer whales can be seen moving in just below the surface. The young whale desperately tries to escape while the mother rolls over to protect her baby, but the outcome is inevitable. The killer whales will have their meal.

It took about four hours for five orcas to batter and kill the calf, even as its mother tried to defend it.

 

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