A young humpback whale that was euthanized on Monday has been removed from the Oregon beach where it died.
Scientists, veterinary students and members of the Confederated Tribes of Siletz Indians worked together to disassemble the whale Tuesday.
Tribal members performed ceremonies for the whale, and collected some of its remains for cultural use.
The whale was found beached north of Yachats on Saturday. Dozens of people flocked to the coast in an attempt to rescue it, including trained responders from Portland and Seattle. But even with the help of a rope-and-pully system used at high tide, they were unable to free the 28-foot-long, 9-ton mammal.
Jim Rice, the program director of Oregon State University’s Oregon Marine Mammal Stranding Network, said the animal was suffering and, with rough seas offshore, had little chance of surviving when officials decided to euthanize it.
“It was a very difficult decision,” Rice said
Scientists will examine samples to better understand why the 2-year-old animal beached itself north of Yachats. They said it was tangled in fishing gear – which is a persistent threat to whales and dolphins around the globe.
NOAA Fisheries officials say the gear was left over from the 2023-2024 commercial Dungeness crab season.
This story comes to you from the Northwest News Network, a collaboration between public media organizations in Oregon and Washington.
