Attempt to drag whale carcass out to sea fails

The whale carcass that fouled the Poplar Street beach in Half Moon Bay is drifting back to the beach after the attempt to tow it way failed, reports the Mercury News. Shark researchers have sawed off 100 pound of blubber for shark bait. Another attempt may be made to haul it away, but not before Tuesday.

For now, the whale awaits its fate while rolling and flopping in the surf and drifting generally northward, Van Sommeran said.

"At this point, it’s all ragged and flattened out,’’ he said Sunday.