Humpback whale carcass washes back up on Oregon Coast

OSWALD WEST STATE PARK, Ore. - It's back!

The 38-foot humpback whale carcass that washed ashore over the weekend had vanished by the time scientists arrived to perform a necropsy.

Now it appears the remains washed back out with the high tide - only to return to shore two miles south at Short Sand Beach.

Oregon State Park staff plan to seize on the whale's popularity with interpretive talks on the beach this coming Saturday and Sunday at 1 p.m. - if the dead whale sticks around.

"The twice-daily high tides predicted over the next few weeks are not expected to be high enough to take it back out to sea, though it is still possible for it to wash out," Oregon State Parks said in a press release. "The interpretive presentations will happen on the beach whether the whale washes out or not."

So barring the whale returning to sea with the tide, how does State Parks plan to dispose of the animal?

No, not that way.

"On busy beaches in the heat of summer, Oregon Parks and Recreation Department staff normally bury large mammals if they are on busy beaches and reachable with excavation equipment," State Parks explained in a press release. "In this case, where temperatures are cool and visitors are fewer, it will be left to decay naturally. Scavengers and microorganisms will consume and recycle the tissue over the course of several weeks."

Visitors are asked to avoid touching the whale and to keep dogs on leashes.

The interpretive presentations and parking at Oswald West are both free.

Park at the North Short Sand Trailhead on US Highway 101, and follow the trail signs from the parking area to Short Sand Beach, then walk north.