So many gray whales are dying off the US West Coast that scientists and volunteers dealing with the putrid carcasses have an urgent request for coastal residents: Lend us your private beaches so these ocean giants can rot in peace.
The number of dead whales washing ashore in Washington state alone 29 as of this week means almost every isolated public beach has been used.
Authorities are now scrambling to find remote stretches of sand that are privately owned, with proprietors who don't mind hosting a rotting creature that's bigger than a school bus and has a stench to match its size.
"The preferred option is, at all times, that they just be allowed to decompose naturally," said John Calambokidis, a research biologist with the Olympia, Washington-based Cascadia Research.
"But it gets harder and harder to find locations where they can rot without creating a problem. This is a new wrinkle."
"But it's only temporary. It's only going to be smelling for about a month and after that, the smell's gone."
"There's such sadness in them just washing up on the shores and seeing these big, majestic animals there."
"The increases (in numbers) are small, so why would you expect this huge jump in deaths? There has to be some other variable."
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