On Monday night, October 19, 2009, a female Blue Whale - the largest  creature to ever live on earth - sadly washed up and died in a narrow cove on the Mendocino Coast, just South of the town of Fort Bragg, California. She was 73 feet long and weighed approximately 70 tons.  The Blue Whale ran into the propeller of a research vessel in the open ocean and wedged herself below a 40 foot cliff, here on our coast. 

At a moment’s notice an army of close to 200 volunteers of all backgrounds and ages from Mendocino, Sonoma and Humboldt Counties assembled - every different type of person that you can imagine. They invariably walked away from their busy lives, most at great personal sacrifice, to face the near-impossible, dangerous, physically demanding, gruesome task and salvage the skeleton of this endangered specie.

A miracle took place here at what some people refer to as “Braggadoon”. In 15 days, 20 tons of bones were separated from the deceased whale and hauled up a 40’ cliff. Then transported to a secret burial place where the remainder of the decomposition of the soft tissues can transpire over the next year or two. There was no luxury of time for a pre-meditated plan or financing.

We have gotten this far on a shoestring budget because of the community’s generous and positive attitude in pursuit of a worthwhile and common goal. We are optimistic that we can be propelled along to fulfill our goal by spreading the news of our story.

Please join the Friends of the Blue Whale and help us on our journey.