Florida marine scientists say it was too late to save a juvenile humpback whale that died after beaching itself in the Fort Pierce inlet.
The 25-foot whale was still alive when it was found by four fisherman flounder gigging around 10:30 p.m. Monday, TC Palm reports, but expired overnight. The species is endangered.
“Something must have been wrong for it to come to shore,” Blair Mase, a federal marine mammal stranding coordinator, told TC Palm. “It was thin and in poor body condition.”