The most recent effort to save a young humpback whale stranded just north of Yachats failed on Monday morning. With high tide rolling in, authorities said a veterinarian was preparing to euthanize the whale.
“It’s a very sad, tragic situation,” said Lisa Ballance from the Marine Mammal Institute at Oregon State University. “There’s no way to spin this positively. I know the general public is heartbroken.”
“It’s hard to watch, hard to experience,” she said.
Ballance said the institute, federal and state agencies, police and others have been working to help the whale since it became stranded Saturday near San Marine State Park, just north of Yachats in Lincoln County.
On Monday morning, Ballance said rescuers attempted to slip a bridle on the whale and then attach a rope from the bridle to a boat out at sea, hoping to pull the whale so it was facing the ocean as high tide approached.
Ballance said the rope parted and the bridle slipped off during the operation, effectively ending the rescue effort as high tide approached.
Social media posts went out over the weekend on local Facebook pages, asking people to bring their wetsuits, buckets and shovels in an attempt to get the whale out to sea.
The whale appeared to be caught in a fishing net, which had tangled around its fins and mouth. Volunteers stayed with the whale all through the night, trying to get water to the animal during low tide.
By Sunday morning, Oregon State Police arrived and cleared the scene. As of 10 a.m., the whale lay in about a foot of water and was visibly distressed.
Ballance arrived at the scene Sunday morning. At the time, she said that while it’s admirable so many people tried to help the beached mammal, doing so can be extremely dangerous.
The young whale weighs thousands of pounds, and it’s easy for its tail to hit someone or for someone to become pinned down.
Ballance said scientists will perform a necropsy, taking samples of the animal and try to determine a cause of death.
“It will be extremely valuable to science,” she said.
