Federal officials think a decomposing humpback whale calf that washed ashore Monday night at Po'ipū on Kaua'i may have floated all the way from O'ahu, the Garden Island newspaper reported.

A dead whale had been reported floating about 14 miles off O'ahu's Ka'ena Point on Friday, and Coast Guard personnel said the carcass was drifting west-southwest, said David Schofield, marine mammal response coordinator for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

It is possibly the same whale that ended up on the rocky shoreline fronting the Grand Hyatt Kaua'i Resort & Spa, Schofield said.

Federal and Hyatt crews worked to remove the decaying, smelly carcass Tuesday morning while dozens of onlookers including residents and hotel guests watched.

Diann Hartman, Hyatt public relations manager, said that about 20 Hyatt employees from various departments pitched in to remove the carcass from a reef after security personnel noticed it around 7 a.m. Tuesday.