James Keivom/New York Daily News
Members of the NYPD attempt to rescue a stranded whale before it had to be euthanized near the shore of Orchard Beach on Sunday. 
A young minke whale euthanized along a Bronx beach was suffering from chronic pneumonia, marine experts said.
A necropsy performed on the 15-foot whale Monday also revealed it had recently lost a significant amount of weight before stranding itself in shallow waters off of Orchard Beach on Sunday.
The Atlantic Marine Conservation Society spokeswoman Rachel Bosworth said further tests are needed to determine what caused the pneumonia.
The whale was euthanized after biologists, veterinarians and the NYPD tried for six hours to save the marine creature.
Rob DiGiovanni, the society’s chief scientist, said the whale had been sick for some time and was too weak to swim or float on its own.
