Gray whale stranded again at park in Wash. state

(AP) -- A gray whale that was stranded off the shores of Washington state and managed to get back to open waters has beached itself again.

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration spokesman Brian Gorman says it's not surprising the 40-foot whale beached itself again at Everett. He says whales that are sick seek the shores - and that it may be dead already.

On Thursday, more than a dozen volunteers kept the whale wet with buckets of water and protected its sensitive skin with wet towels for hours until the tide rose and it was able to swim out to open water.

Residents near Harborview Park in Everett spotted the whale Friday about a quarter-mile west from where it was stranded Thursday.