Spectators gather as killer whale washes ashore Florida coast

Beached killer whale spotted along Florida coast

Spectators gather as a killer whale washed ashore the Florida coast (Flagler County Sheriff's Office)

PALM COAST, Fla. – Visitors to the Florida coastline were greeted with a rare sight Wednesday morning as a more than 6,000-pound killer whale washed ashore Flagler County, triggering a response by several agencies.

A beachgoer in Palm Coast spotted the massive 21-foot orca after sunrise and contacted authorities, who rushed to the scene to determine what could be done to save the female.

"What’s so interesting about this case is that there has never been a reported killer whale stranding in the Southeast region of the U.S. So, this was a first," said Dr. Erin Fougeres, a marine mammal stranding program administrator at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

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Unfortunately, the whale did not respond to biologists’ efforts, and the adult whale died on the beach.

"There’s nothing visually apparent that might have caused the stranding and death, but the whale will be transported to a laboratory at SeaWorld for full necropsy," said Fougeres. "There was nothing readily apparent on the beach. So, we won’t know more until they get it back into a laboratory and really start to look at it."

NOAA estimates there are 50,000 killer whales in the wild, and the species can be found in every ocean around the globe.

More typical sighting locations include Antarctica, Norway and Alaska, but clusters are known to exist in the subtropics and tropics.

"It’s our first stranding ever here, but they are found in these waters, although less commonly along the Atlantic coast," said Fougeres.

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Killer whale range map

(NOAA)

Potential shark attacks and boating collisions don’t appear to have played a role in the stranding, as there were no visible signs on the carcass.

Biologists said they would compare the beaching to several other whale strandings along the Gulf Coast and Southeast to determine if the events are connected, but none exist at first glance.

"We’re very anxious to learn as much as we can from this individual both about why it might have stranded and whether it was sick and what was going on with it," said Fougeres.

Southeast water temperatures

(FOX Weather)