SAN DIEGO (CBS) — Cleanup crews on Monday were waiting for favorable tides to help them move a dead whale that washed ashore a Southland beach over the weekend.

Officials said the tide will make it easier to dislodge the 50-foot “fin” whale that was found on shore at Point Loma.

Scientists will likely determine the cause of death after the whale — which is on the U.S. Endangered Species list — is moved when the tide is at its highest point, according to the San Diego Union-Tribune.

The mammal — known as the second largest animal after the blue whale — may be stuck for the next several days where it washed ashore near the city’s sewage treatment plant.

Lifeguards are coordinating with government agencies on efforts to move the whale, which will ultimately be taken to a landfill.