Perhaps your editor's own beachtown-background saddles us with a deep affection for whales, but we're crestfallen to report that a finback that washed up on Stinson Beach today has died.

The whale, reportedly alive when it rolled up near Walla Vista in Stinson Beach, became beached Monday morning. Some blood was spotted on it as well, according to reports. And "despite crews trying to push it back into the salty waters of the Pacific Ocean," NBC Bay Area notes, the whale was pronounced dead at 11 a.m.

The Chronicle reports: "Locals and tourists flocked to the beach to see the stranded creature. Whales are often spotted cavorting in the waves but are seldom seen up close, particularly under such unhappy circumstances."

Beached whales are an uncommon occurrence at Stinson.

RIP, big guy.

[NBC]
[Chron]