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National Tree Day Planet Ark Home
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California Beach Inundated With Big, Dead Squid |
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| USA: January 21, 2005 | ||
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LOS ANGELES - Hundreds of jumbo squid washed up dead over the last two days in one of southern California's most popular beach communities, authorities said on Thursday.
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The Newport Beach Fire Department said some 500 squid, measuring roughly five feet (1.5 metre) and weighing about 10 to 15 pounds (4.5 kg to 7 kg) each, added to the tonnes of debris already littering local beaches after recent heavy rains. "I think that they were probably chasing some bait or some prey at high tide and just swam too close to the beach," said Eric Bauer, a lifeguard captain with the fire department in the coastal city 45 miles (72.5 km) southeast of Los Angeles. Southern California was battered by heavy storms in late December and early January, dumping more rain in the space of a few days than the area usually gets in a year. City officials said the water locally was dirtier than usual at the moment, in part because of the storms. Bauer said regular squid sightings were not uncommon but added the jumbos looked "extra-terrestrial." Newport Beach's squid problem is the latest in a string of cases of the sea creatures washing up dead on Pacific beaches. More than 1,000 were found in southwest Washington state last October and they inundated the San Diego area in mid-2002.
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REUTERS NEWS SERVICE
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