Staff from the Seaside Aquarium, who coordinate with the Marine Mammals Stranding Network reported that a 30-foot gray whale washed ashore on Washington’s Benson Beach near Ilwaco last week. A necropsy was performed Saturday by Dr. Debbie Duffield and her students at Portland State University. The team believe that the whale most likely died when hit by a large ship and there was evidence that sharks had been feasting on the carcass. The children washing the baleen were middle schoolers visiting from Scappoose who offered to help, Sayeede Sieah, Courtney Hart, Briana Hart and Makenzie Schneider.