Beached sperm whale in the surf at Fort Stevens State Park

ASTORIA, Ore. — Beachgoers near Astoria say a whale has washed ashore at Fort Stevens State Park, close to the wreck of the Peter Iredale.

The United States Coast Guard said they were aware of the whale and that NOAA would be handling the creature.

Officials on Saturday were asking everyone to remain at least 200 yards away from the whale for safety reasons.

Officials from the Seaside Aquarium say they believe the 40-foot whale is a juvenile male and that the whale had been dead for a while before washing ashore.

Photos show a few large gashes on the whale and the Seaside Aquarium says they believe the cuts came from a ship strike. It isn't clear if it happened before or after the whale died.

Officials with the aquarium say they removed the lower jaw of the whale for scientific purposes and a necropsy will be scheduled later this week to take a closer look at what caused the whale to die.

Of course, this isn’t the first time a whale has ended up on the Oregon Coast. In 1970, a whale washed ashore in Florence. KATU was on the scene as the whale was blown sky-high with dynamite, only to have the blubber rain down on onlookers.

KATU’s Paul Linnman was there that fateful day.