DARE COUNTY, N.C. — The NC Aquarium on Roanoke Island is advising the public to avoid the water after a juvenile sperm whale got stranded on the beach near Jennette’s Pier.
The aquarium says members of the OBX Marine Mammal Stranding Network (MMSN) are addressing the situation.
They said since the whale is in the “swash zone,” it isn’t safe for humans to work with, but the whale was observed and reassessed a few hours later when the tide dropped.
According to the aquarium, single marine mammal stranding indicate that the animal's health is rapidly declining, and because rehabilitation for many large species is "difficult or impossible," humane euthanasia is the "best course of action."
Experts will perform a necropsy tomorrow to learn more about the juvenile whale and try and determine a cause for the stranding.
The aquarium says it takes time for the test results on tissues to come back from the lab.
In the meantime, people should not enter the water, the aquarium says. Even though the whale is a juvenile, the aquarium says it’s still quite heavy and could roll onto a person.
