NAGS HEAD, N.C. (WAVY) – The North Carolina Aquarium on Roanoke Island confirmed that a juvenile sperm whale was euthanized on a Outer Banks Beach.
The Outer Banks Marine Mammal Stranding Network (MMSN) responded to the stranded juvenile sperm whale on the beach near Jennette’s Pier Wednesday.
The whale was in the swash zone, which forms the land-ocean boundary, it is not safe for humans to work with. This also means that people are urged to not enter the water at all during this time.
According to the MMSN, these single marine mammal strandings are an indication of the animal’s rapidly declining health.
Marina Doshkov, Marine Mammal Stranding Coordinator, told 10 On Your Side some of the characteristics of a sperm whale.
“It is a species of whale that is found mainly far offshore, off into deep waters. They dive 2000 meters deep and they hold their breath for hours. This is a deep diving species completely out of habitat for it to be on our beach. This time of year, they’re migrating south to the Gulf of Mexico,” she said.
Sperm whales washing up on the Outer Banks are rare, Doshkov says, with the last one more than 10 years ago.
“Usually when they come in like this, it’s because they’re ill or sick or injured or something’s happened.”
The whale was more than 8 meters long, and estimated to weigh about nine tons. Doshkov and other scientists will conduct a necropsy to determine what happened for the whale to beach itself.
Additionally, the MMSN says rehabilitation for many large species is difficult or impossible and humane euthanasia is often the best course of action.
The Marine Mammal team will be on-site Thursday to perform a necropsy (or animal autopsy) to try to determine a cause for the stranding.
There will be an update once the tissue comes back form the lab.
The stranding team plans to work with the town of Nags Head to bury the whale somewhere nearby on the beach.
Continue to check WAVY.com for updates.
