PORT CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — A female pygmy sperm whale found beached on the rocks in Central Florida has been euthanized.
Florida Today reports that biologists had to kill the marine mammal on Monday because deep-diving whales don’t survive in captivity.
Hubbs-SeaWorld Research Institute research scientist Wendy Noke Durden says rescuers can’t replicate the diet and conditions the whales need in captivity.
The nearly 10-foot-long whale was found by a commercial fisherman on Monday near the Trident submarine basin at Port Canaveral.
Researchers say the whale looked like it had been sick for a while.
The animal’s carcass will be examined in a necropsy at a Melbourne Beach facility.
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Information from: Florida Today (Melbourne, Fla.), http://www.floridatoday.com
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