Coastal Passage: Beautiful Victim

A dead whale was found at dawn, wedged under a bridge, in the Oakland Estuary. In a strange way, I saw beauty in the decomposing mass of the marine mammal. I proceeded to replicate a portion of the color and texture of the carcass. It was towed to the Marine Mammal Center, where biologists determined it died from trauma, and it was identified as a juvenile female fin whale. Of the endangered whale species, she is one of more than 80 whales confirmed as being killed each year by ships off the coasts of California, Oregon, and Washington. Collisions with ships are a major cause of mortality for blue whales, humpback whales, and fin whales. With small populations, every death makes a difference.