The carcass was found Saturday night along the Tony Knowles Coastal Trail, near the mouth of Fish Creek and just south of Westchester Lagoon. Biologists with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration have been examining the animal — a young female, judging from its size and appearance.

Biologists say the whale, believed to be a young female, was first reported Saturday lying on mudflats near a popular trail.

NOAA biologists are trying to determine how the whale died, while onlookers have gathered to see the large carcass.

An endangered fin whale washed ashore near Anchorage, Alaska, capturing the curiosity of locals while biologists investigate its death. The 47-foot female whale, estimated to be between 1 and 3 years old,