Wildlife officials euthanize whale in Myrtle Beach

City crews and wildlife officials were called to 9th Avenue South after an injured pygmy sperm whale came ashore overnight.

By: Rusty Ray | SCNOW
Published: July 24, 2009

MYRTLE BEACH - Wildlife officials euthanized a whale that washed ashore Friday morning in Myrtle Beach.

A passerby discovered the female pygmy sperm whale around 2 a.m. near 9th Avenue South.

A wildlife official say the whale was a full-grown adult and was very sick. A veterinarian came to the scene and euthanised the whale around 8 a.m. Crews then removed the animal from the beach.

Marine biologists will conduct a necropsy on the whale in Charleston.

A large crowd of onlookers gathered to watch and take pictures of the stranded whale, including Tom Miller, whose from Clinton, Tennessee.

"It's sad, but that's just part of it. It's nature, and this stuff happens," Miller said.

Rob Young, part of the marine science department at Coastal Carolina University, is also a coordinator with the Stranding Network in South Carolina. He says pygmy sperm whales typically live 50-60 miles offshore, off the continental shelf and in the deeper waters, where they eat mostly squid.

"When a sick and dying animal hits the beach, there is very little that you can do for the animal," Young said. "Pushing the animal back out to the water doesn't help because it doesn't have the strength to swim anymore."

According to the National Aquarium's website, pygmy sperm whales are one of the most commonly stranded species reported along the southeastern coast of the United States.