**Staff from the Marine Mammal Stranding Network begin to examine a gray whale that washed ashore near the Driftwood Shores resort north of Florence on Thursday.** (Photo courtesy of Dolly Woolley)

FLORENCE — Authorities say a dead gray whale washed up on a beach north of Florence on Thursday.

The animal was discovered near the Driftwood Shores resort, said Oregon State Parks spokesperson Mike Baden. Baden said Thursday afternoon that staff from the Oregon Marine Mammal Stranding Network were conducting a necropsy to try to determine a cause of death.

He said parks staff were helping direct the public. He said the area directly around the animal has been roped off, but the rest of the beach is still accessible.

Baden warned that deceased whales are protected under federal law, so approaching or touching them is prohibited.

“Right now our concern is just keeping visitors at a safe distance from the whale and following instructions,” said Baden.

Gray whales are currently migrating north up the West Coast from Baja California to the Bering Sea

Dolly Woolley of Eugene said she was on a walk on the beach when she saw the animal. She said there appeared to be several cuts on its body, and she thought it looked thin.

“It is sad, but it is also part of life, you know?” said Woolley. “Some survive and some don’t.”