Orca attack could have killed whale on Sonoma Coast

BODEGA BAY, Calif. (AP) – Authorities say a dead gray whale calf that washed ashore earlier this week on the Sonoma Coast appears to have been the victim of a violent orca attack.

The Santa Rosa Press Democrat reports Wednesday that the attack was caught on video by local fishermen.

Experts at the California Academy of Science say the photos of the juvenile male whale show a notched flipper and a whitish patch that appears to match one seen on video of the attack.

The Sonoma County Sheriff’s Office says the dead whale was spotted at Salmon Creek Beach by crews aboard one of their helicopters on Monday.

Last month, a 7,000 pound, 40-foot-long gray whale washed ashore dead at San Onofre State Beach in Southern California.

Dead whales have also washed up on beaches south of San Francisco in the past year.