A pygmy whale has been euthanized after it beached itself on Zuma Beach, a famous stretch of sand in Malibu.
According to the LA Times, the whale, weighing 900 pounds, was first seen at around midnight a little ways from shore. By Friday morning, the whale was spotted near Tower 14 at just after 8 a.m. Soon after, four bystanders worked desperately to get the whale back out to sea, but the large surf hindered their efforts. As time went on, more people volunteered to help, but despite their best efforts, weren’t able to get the whale back out to sea.
By 9 a.m., officials were on scene with a gurney for the whale, which was then taken to a nearby California Wildlife Center van for treatment. “The whale had chronic wounds on the right side of its body, bloody diarrhea, and was unable to see,” wrote Hannah Fry for the LA Times.
The whale was taken to a van for treatment, but the decision was made to euthanize it. Image: LACoFD Lifeguards/Twitter
According to Jennifer Brent, the Wildlife Center’s executive director, though, the whale was too sick to be saved. “We were advised by experienced veterinarians at Sea World in cooperation with NOAA that this species does not fare well in rehabilitation and combined with other problems,” she wrote in an emailed statement to Fox News. “The decision was made to euthanize.”
The whale was first seen early on Friday morning at Zuma Beach. Image: LACoFD Lifeguards/Twitter
Pygmy sperm whales are a rare species. They spend their lives in deeper, temperate waters, and are rarely spotted. This, however, is the second pygmy sperm whale to wash up in the Los Angeles area in six months, a fact that is concerning to researchers. “It’s very much a cause for concern,” Brent said. “These are not animals that should be coming ashore and certainly not in our neighborhood.”
The whale will be taken to the Natural history museum so researchers can figure out why it died.
