‘Bob the Minke Whale’ found dead after week in California harbor

A minke whale that had been swimming in Long Beach’s Rainbow Harbor for most of the past week was found dead Sunday morning, April 6.

Officials with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration are examining the whale’s body for any potential injuries or illnesses, said spokesperson Michael Milstein. They’ll also take blood and tissue samples in hopes of learning the whale’s cause of death and helping other whales in the future.

It’s common, Milstein said, for whales to end up in basins, but usually they find their way out. While the whale was in the harbor, officials said it didn’t show any signs of illness, injury or being in danger.

Officials tried removing booms to create a larger opening for the whale to leave and brought in boats to make loud noises that would encourage it to get out of the harbor. The whale left for a brief time but returned to the same basin, Milstein said.

Spectators first noticed the whale, dubbed “Bob the Minke Whale,” on March 31, near the Harbor Breeze charter boats. It later made its way to Shoreline Village and then near the Catalina Express.

Minke whales are a smaller kind of whale, and officials believe there are at least 509 minke whales off the coast of California, Oregon and Washington, according to a 2023 population estimate.