SOLANA BEACH (CBS 8) - A dead baby whale washed up along the southern Solana Beach shoreline Friday morning.
A beachgoer found the roughly 22-foot carcass at the edge of the water in the Del Mar Shores area of southern Solana Beach shortly before 7:30 a.m., lifeguard Sgt. Greg Uruburu said.
Solana Beach Lifeguards believe the whale's been dead for several days. It was not immediately clear how the whale died, but personnel from the National Marine Fisheries Service were performing tests.
City crews waited for low tide, then used a heavy-lifting machine to load the whale onto a flatbed truck for transport to Miramar Landfill. The personnel had the carcass off the beach by about 3 p.m., Uruburu said.
It was unclear what caused the death of the whale, which was believed to be 1 to 2 years old, though a National Marine Fisheries Service employee told lifeguards it appeared to have been undernourished, the sergeant said.
Note: A National Weather Service high surf warning for the beaches will remain in effect until late Sunday afternoon.