CARLSBAD, Calif. (KGTV) — A visibly-injured Pygmy sperm whale that washed ashore at a beach in Carlsbad Thursday afternoon has died.
It’s unclear exactly when the whale washed onto the beach.
According to SeaWorld Rescue Team officials, they retrieved the adult whale from the beach and administered emergency first aid but the marine animal died from its injuries during transport.
"We’d like to thank the community, especially the many people (maybe up to 100 beachgoers) that supported the rescue team and helped carry and bring the animal to the transport unit," SeaWorld said in a released statement Thursday evening.
Video of the scene showed the whale in the sand between Solmar Drive and North Ponto Beach as a group of people tried to keep it in the water.
SeaWorld says the whale weighed around 600-900 pounds and was about nine to 10 feet long.
They also say the whale was taken to the Southwest Fisheries Science Center where a necropsy will be performed to determine what may have caused the animal to strand and its cause of death.
Watch video of the scene in the player below:
