The Latest: Dead whale at LA-area beach towed back to sea

A dead humpback whale lies washed ashore at Dockweiler Beach in Los Angeles on Friday, July 1, 2016. The whale floated in Thursday evening. It is approximately 40 feet long and is believed to have been between 10 to 30 years old. Marine animal authorities will try to determine why the animal died. (AP Photo/Nick Ut) A dead humpback whale lies washed ashore at Dockweiler Beach in Los Angeles on Friday, July 1, 2016. The whale floated in Thursday evening. It is approximately 40 feet long and is believed to have been between 10 to 30 years old. Marine animal authorities will try to determine why the animal died. (AP Photo/Nick Ut)

By Associated Press July 2, 2016 2 min read

LOS ANGELES (AP) – The Latest on a dead humpback whale that washed onto a Los Angeles County beach (all times local):

9:15 p.m.

A dead humpback whale that washed ashore on a Los Angeles County beach has been towed back out to sea.

The humpback, known to whale watchers as Wally, was towed out at high tide on Friday night, about 24 hours after first coming ashore at Dockweiler Beach. An earlier attempt at the tow-out failed because the tide was too low.

A National Marine Fisheries Service official said the whale is around 45 feet long and at least 15 years old, meaning it had just reached maturity.