The Yurok Tribe of California is mourning the loss of a gray whale that died after spending 56 days in the Klamath River.

The tribe tried to help the 45-foot-long whale return to the ocean. But she didn't budge as she draw national and international attention.

”It brought a lot of laughs, smiles and a lot of conversation,” Chairman Thomas O'Rourke Sr. told The Eureka Times-Standard. “She kind of liked it here. And, it appeared she liked people.”

The tribe will participate in a necropsy to determine the cause of the whale's death. The tribe plans to bury her in the river.

“We learned a little more about the science of whales, and the scientists learned a little bit more about the tradition of whales," O'Rourke said of the joint efforts to help the whale.

Get the Story:
Sad ending for Klamath River gray whale; biologists hope necropsy will determine cause of death (The Eureka Times-Standard 8/17)
The show is over (The Triplicate 8/17)
Whale in river rekindles talk of generations-old story that told of a world out of balance (AP 8/16)
Crowd gathers to mourn death of stranded gray whale that delighted onlookers in California (AP 8/16)

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Yurok Tribe tries to help stranded gray whale get back to ocean (7/28)