A beached whale was euthanized near Tampa, Florida on Thursday. The 30-foot sperm whale drew large crowds but had to be put down.
It is very rare for a sperm whale to come close to shore. The whale that washed up appeared to be emaciated and since the large creature wouldn't have survived on its own, veterinarians from the University of Florida decided it would be best to put it down. Sperm whales need to be in deep water and the whale's closeness to shore indicated that it was having problems, CNN reports.
"The animal is in extremely poor body condition, listed as emaciated, prior to death at this stage," Dr. Mike Walsh, University of Florida College of Veterinary Medicine told Bay News. "The fact that it came to shore basically means it is going to die on its own."
Hundreds of people gathered at Madeira Beach to say goodbye to the whale. The veterinarians gave the whale a strong sedative before using a needle attached to a 6-foot syringe to pump lethal potassium chloride into the whale's chest to stop its heart.
"Although it looks large and scary, it is a very humane thing to do," Erin Fougeres, a marine mammal biologist with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration told CNN. She said that this is commonly done with large whales that wash up and are in bad shape.
The carcass of the whale was towed away at about 4 p.m. on Thursday. It was taken to Fort De Soto, where it will undergo a necropsy, or an animal autopsy on Friday. Scientists hope to determine what caused the whale to come out of its comfort zone deep in the Gulf of Mexico and to beach itself on shore. "Our goal is to make sure the animal will not suffer but to also make sure we learn as much as we can for future events," said Walsh. "Was it a natural cause, a toxic cause?"
When the necropsy is complete, the huge creature's body will be given a sand burial.
This article is copyrighted by Travelers Today, the travel news leader
