Humpback whale known as "Wally" drifts past OC beaches
Mark Girardeau
6/30/16
A well known whale nicknamed "Wally" washed ashore on Thursday evening on Dockweiler Beach near LAX Airport, Wally the humpback whale frequented Orange County's coastline last summer and was seen almost daily with another female humpback whale nicknames "Wilma." Both of the female whales fed together put on great shots for many whale watchers. Wally had gotten lots of fame after a couple of videos that went viral featuring her.
7/10/16
The very well known humpback whale known as "Wally" came within 1 mile of a popular swimming beach in Newport Beach today near Newport Pier. A lifeguard boat named Sea Watch 2 was able to attach a rope to a harness that was left on the whale and take her back out to sea about 5 miles, it is possible the whale will come back to shore somewhere south of Newport Beach if currents keep taking it down the coast. Wally washed ashore at Dockweiler Beach near LAX Airport on July 1st and was towed out to sea the following day.
The best outcome for Wally would be for other marine animals like sharks to feed off the carcass and help the natural decomposition process. It is likely that Wally will wash back ashore somewhere in South Orange County or San Diego County if the currents keep the whale on the same general course.
Wally was well known to many boaters and whale watchers as last summer, she and another whale named "Wilma" spent a few months around Newport Beach, frequently playing with boats and putting on great shows of breaching and tail slapping.
Wally's popularity
Wally become very well known in the whale watching community after the video of her spouting a rainbow which seemed magical. Another video went viral around the same time of a little girl that seemed to have a connection with Wally and be able to tell her when to appear. Wally had a spot in many peoples hearts and she was a very friendly whale that wasn't shy of whale watching boats and would often put on a great show by breaching or throwing her pectoral fins around. We know these videos are Wally because of a website called Happy Whale that allows people to send in images of humpback whales flukes and matches the whale to other sightings.
