Dead blue whale drifts toward Daly City shore

A male blue whale washed ashore Wednesday afternoon off the coast of Daly City, a spokesman for the Marine Mammal Center said.

The whale was spotted at about 12:30 p.m. about a quarter mile from shore and has since drifted closer, spokesman Giancarlo Rulli said.

Officials from the center have sent a team member to look at the carcass but they don’t yet know the length of the whale.

The center, along with its partners including the California Academy of Sciences, are deciding whether to send a necropsy team out today or wait until Thursday.

Because there are only a few hours of daylight left today, it will likely be Thursday, Rulli said.

With the tide expected to rise Thursday, scientists hope the whale gets pushed up the beach so they’ll have more access to it, Rulli said.