A massive animal skeleton has become the hottest new tourist attraction at a California beach. Back in October, a whale carcass washed ashore at Pajaro Dunes State Beach in the Monterey Bay town of Watsonville, CA. The body might be gone, but the bones remain, and locals have been able to see the remnants of the marine mammal firsthand.
According to the Santa Cruz Museum of Natural History, the carcass was too decomposed to properly identify the exact species, but officials at the nearby Joseph M. Long Marine Laboratory believe it was a fin whale because of its size.
“An interesting feature has taken up residence on Pajaro Dunes beach and many curious locals have been sending us images over the past few months trying to make sense of this behemoth,” the museum wrote. "What remains today is the basicranium ('base of skull') with attached partial nares (a.k.a. nostrils)."
???????? An interesting feature has taken up residence on Pajaro Dunes beach and many curious local have been sending us images over the past few months trying to make sense of this behemoth.
— Santa Cruz Museum of Natural History (@SantaCruzMuseum) February 4, 2024
???? Yvonne Rew-Falk @whyvonnegiraffe pic.twitter.com/MstzGWLFPj
It turns out a whale washed ashore in October of this past year. It was too decomposed to provide a clear species ID, but Long Marine Lab suspect it's a fin whale based on length. What remains today is the basicranium (“base of skull”) with attached partial nares (aka nostrils).
— Santa Cruz Museum of Natural History (@SantaCruzMuseum) February 4, 2024
Excited locals chimed in with their own close-up photos of the bones. "We saw it too! So cool," one person responded.
We saw it too! So cool. pic.twitter.com/sc0Rc517JA
— krystal scarborough (@Louiseyourmama) February 24, 2024
"We saw these same whale bones at Pajaro Dunes on [Dec. 28] after the big storm surge," another said, calling the sight "Incredible to stumble across." The spot doesn't just have an apparent skull, but what seems to be vertebra bone as well. "With the spacing in between, the four vertebrae were over 4 feet long," they added.
We saw these same whale bones at Pajaro Dunes on 12/28/23 after the big storm surge. Incredible to stumble across. pic.twitter.com/m1Pgq55RaN
— Jocelyn Sze (@jsze) February 25, 2024
For size reference, the boy in the gray t-shirt is 5 feet tall, the vertebrae were each about 11 in long, 9 in diameter. With the spacing in between, the four vertebrae were over 4 feet long.
— Jocelyn Sze (@jsze) February 25, 2024
Clearly, it was a massive animal when it was alive. Fin whales can reach up to 85 feet in length and weigh up to 80 tons. So getting to see just how big these creatures are in real life has been incredibly fun for locals.
"This type of nature event is a great opportunity to get people excited about nature,” the museum's executive director Felicia Van Stolk told SFGate of the find. "It is a wonderful reminder that the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary is the home to some truly amazing creatures."
If you're in the area, check out the bones while they're still there.
