Dead whale stuck on Los Angeles beach

LOS ANGELES — A dead humpback whale was stuck on a popular Los Angeles-area beach as the Fourth of July weekend got underway Friday, with visitors urged to steer clear of the huge carcass.

Small waves washed around the decomposing leviathan on Dockweiler Beach, a long stretch of sand near the west end of Los Angeles International Airport with an RV park and extensive parking that usually draws big crowds.

"Unfortunately, it's here on the Fourth of July weekend when people want to go to the beach," lifeguard Capt. Kenichi Haskett told KABC-TV. "We ask that people not go in the water near here because you see the fluids are seeping out of it now, and those fluids pose a hazard."

Lifeguards posted yellow caution tape to keep beachgoers away, but some children dipped their feet into the waves nearby. The whale, estimated to be some 40 feet long, floated ashore Thursday night.

"It's pretty sad," said visitor Rayleen Johnson, who watched it wash in from the Pacific.

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