CALIFORNIA BRIEFING / SANTA CRUZ
Associated Press
A dead two-ton gray whale that drifted to shore has been hauled up a steep cliff and taken to a local landfill for burial.
Officials decided to remove the young 25-foot whale Friday after efforts to tow it out to sea failed and federal marine authorities deemed the carcass a health hazard.
The whale was pulled about a mile out to sea after it was spotted Wednesday but returned to shore in the evening.
Researchers were not able to perform a necropsy and say the cause of the death will likely remain uncertain.
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