- October 10, 2024
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A male pygmy sperm whale beached on the shoreline just north of Marineland in St. Johns County on Sept. 27 and was later euthanized.
Beachgoers came across the whale sometime before 10 a.m., while it was still alive. Kelly Richmond, a communications coordinator with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission, said the whale measured 381 centimeters long — roughly 12 feet and 6 inches.
Richmond said FWC called an expert to the field and decided to euthanize the sick animal in the early afternoon. The carcass will be taken to the FWC's St. Petersburg Marine Mammal Pathobiology Laboratory for study, she said.
Richmond said figuring out what made the whale sick will require scientists to run tests, which could take a long time.
This is the third whale to beach in the Flagler County area in 2023. In January, an orca washed ashore — the first known killer whale beaching in Florida's history — near Jungle Hut Park, and in March, a deep-sea beaked whale was euthanized after it beached near Gamble Rogers Park.
