Last Thursday morning, the OBX Marine Mammal Stranding Network reported a large whale near Janet Pier in North Carolina's Barrier Islands (a kind of dunes that form near beaches and form a natural breakwater) of North Carolina. Upon arrival, they found a large-headed head cub, also known as a sperm whale, stranded off shore. Although this is a protected species, the experts decided to euthanize the young whale. We will elaborate on the causes and circumstances with the assistance of Forefront.
The whale got "stuck" near the shore, in the surf area, but due to weather conditions and wave height, experts were unable to get close to it safely for several hours. At the same time, it seems clear that his health is deteriorating. Only when the tide receded and the water level dropped were they able to examine it and determined that it was in too bad a condition to be restored.
As mentioned, large-headed whales are a protected species, defined as "vulnerable" – that is, they are not immediately endangered, but they are also not safe from it, due to a drastic decline in their numbers in recent generations (from over a million to a few hundred thousand) caused by poachers. They have been nicknamed thrown whales because of their shape, which can reach a length of 18 meters in adulthood, and are the largest species of toothed whales.
Despite conservation efforts of the species, rehabilitating large whale species such as whales is extremely difficult. The North Carolina Aquarium, which assisted in the case, announced that "since the restoration of many large species is difficult or impossible, the best course of action is humane euthanasia." Thus, the decision was made to euthanize the young whale forever to prevent it from further suffering. An autopsy will now be performed on his body to understand what caused him to get stuck near shore.
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