Oregonians who live along the coast spent hours late Saturday night attempting to save a young humpback whale that became stranded near San Marine State Park, just north of Yachats in Lincoln County.
Social media posts went out 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 appeared to stay 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 laid in about a foot of water and was visibly distressed.
Lisa Ballance from the Marine Mammal Institute at Oregon State University arrived at the scene Sunday morning. 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 likely weighs more than 3,000 pounds, and it’s easy for it’s tail to hit someone or for someone to become pinned down.
Plus, she said, it’s likely that the whale will not survive.
“The prospects are slim to none,” Ballance said. “It comes ashore for a reason, and the reason is that it can’t survive out at sea in the ocean.
“There’s really nothing that we can do to help this individual except give it some room.”
If the whale does die, Ballance said, scientists will perform a necropsy, taking samples of the animal and try to determine a cause of death.
“If it does die, it will be extremely valuable to science,” she said.
This story comes to you from the Northwest News Network, a collaboration between public media organizations in Oregon and Washington.