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First orca whale to beach in southeast U.S. in decades showed signs of illness : NPR


Authorities said a killer whale, more than 20 feet long, died after running aground in Palm Coast, Fla., on Wednesday.

Flagler County Sheriff’s Office via AP


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Flagler County Sheriff’s Office via AP


Authorities said a killer whale, more than 20 feet long, died after running aground in Palm Coast, Fla., on Wednesday.

Flagler County Sheriff’s Office via AP

Early Wednesday morning, someone spotted a rare sight in Florida: A killer whale more than 20 feet long has washed up on the state’s north Atlantic coast.

The first killer whale to wash ashore in the southeastern United States in nearly 70 years died shortly thereafter of illness in Palm Coast, Fla.

Officials don’t know the exact age of the near-old female orcas that ran aground on the beach. Female orcas usually live about 50 years but reach 90 years of age in the wild.

While it’s too early to say the exact cause of her death, there are “signs of illness. No signs of human interaction or trauma,” said Erin Fougeres, Dynamic Programs manager. stranding mammals in the Southeast region of NOAA. Fougeres said disease is a common reason whales run aground.

A resident found the whale and reported it around 6:30 a.m. Wednesday. Marine biologists from Hubbs-SeaWorld Research Institute and staff from Flagler County Government assisted NOAA in removing the more than 6,000-pound whale along with other groups. It was loaded onto a truck by dozens of people in an effort a few hours, ending around 3pm

Fougeres said it is the third known killer whale to land in the southeastern United States and the first since 1956. The area stretches from North Carolina to Texas and includes Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands. belonging to the United States.

The whale’s body was immediately autopsied – or autopsied – at SeaWorld in Orlando, Fla., as the facility houses a large laboratory. Fougeres told NPR that the multi-organ effort went on until about 4 a.m. Thursday and took extensive tissue samples from every organ system. Results can take weeks or months.

“There wasn’t really much left after that,” Fougeres said, but what was left of the body was transported to the University of Florida for decomposition. Its skeleton will be sent to the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, DC, and may be on display in the future.

“We really trust the public to report these strandings to us, and we want to investigate every stranded animal,” says Fougeres. The public can report a whale stranding at 1-877-942-5343.

Orca whale is usually found further north in colder waters, and Fougeres says they are rare in the Atlantic United States. However, there is a recognized number of orcas in the western North Atlantic and others in the Gulf of Mexico.

Although disease is one of the reasons why whales can beach themselves, scientists are still not sure why stranding occurs. Other potential reasons including errors in navigating or following sick animals, animals stranded while moving in herds, sometimes resulting in mass stranding.

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