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Giant whale carcass moved from beach to landfill
01:24 - Source: KSWB
Los Angeles CNN  — 

Wally the whale – or its carcass, rather – just keeps making it back to shore.

The 22-ton humpback first showed up around the Fourth of July holiday, and despite efforts to keep it out to sea, its carcass has washed ashore three times.

Wally first washed ashore on Dockweiler State Beach in Los Angeles County a couple weeks ago.

It was then towed out to sea.

But the whale wound up on the beach at Dana Point in Orange County near Newport Beach Wednesday, according to CNN affiliate KUSI.

Then on Saturday, it was spotted floating near Grandview Beach in Encinitas, just north of San Diego.

It eventually washed ashore, attracting onlookers, according to CNN affiliate KFMB.

“It’s not every day you see a humpback whale come up on the beach,” Encinitas Lifeguard Capt. Larry Giles told CNN affiliate KSWB. “It’s a natural occurrence, cycle of life.”

Giles made the decision to move the carcass to a landfill instead of towing it out to sea.

But the whale was so big, it broke a forklift the first time the coast guard tried to move it, according to KSWB.

The decision was made to cut it into pieces and then move it, KSWB reported.

“We’re kind of fortunate in a way because this whale is still intact. It’s been decomposing over the last few weeks,” Giles said.

If it had broken up in the water, it would have been much more difficult to clean up, Giles said.

Pieces of the whale were still spotted in the water, which is attracting sharks, surfers told KFMB.