Rare blue whale washes up near Ft. Bragg

A 70-foot, female blue whale that officials believe was struck by a ship has washed ashore on the Northern California coast in what scientists are calling a rare occurrence.

A 70-foot, female blue whale that officials believe was struck  by a ship has washed ashore on the Northern California coast in  what scientists are calling a rare occurrence.

The whale was first spotted on shore near Fort Bragg in Mendocino County on Monday night, hours after an ocean survey vessel reported hitting a whale a few miles away, said Joe Cordaro, a wildlife biologist with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's marine fisheries service.

Blue whales are the world's largest mammals.

Students from California State University, Humboldt, examined the whale's massive body Tuesday as it lay on its side in a rocky cove.

"I was personally jazzed just to see the animal," said Thor Holmes, a lecturer in mammology at the school. He has examined other whale species that washed ashore but never a blue whale.

The whale had two gashes on its back at least one of which was deep enough to cut through the blubber down to the vertebral column, Holmes said. It otherwise appeared to be in good health.