Dead whale washes up in Daytona Beach

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla., Jan. 18 (UPI) -- A dead humpback whale washed ashore near the Sun Globe Pier in Daytona Beach, Fla., injuring one man.

Officials could not determine how long the animal had been dead, said Capt. Scott Petersohn, a spokesman for the Volusia County Beach Patrol.

He also reported the whale was 30-feet-long and the carcass was still partially in the water nearly three hours after it washed up, the South Florida Sun-Sentinel reported Thursday.

Authorities are still working to determine the cause of the whale's death, Petersohn said.

"It's going to smell real bad," he added, "but it'll be gone by then."

"Stay away," warned the spokesman, "because if the whale's in the surf, the tide will pick this thing up and slam the whale on you."

That very thing has already happened to one bystander who was hit by the whale's tail as the tide tossed the carcass around.