Six rare melon-headed whales washed ashore near Vero Beach

[yo-ho-yo-ho]

Six rare melon-headed whales that washed ashore in Indian River and Martin counties in the last 24 hours could be from the same group that stranded themselves near Sebastian Inlet earlier this week, officials said.

All of them are dead today -- either from their injuries or euthanized, said Megan Stolen, a research biologist with the Hubbs-Sea World Research Institute in Orlando.

One whale beached itself in Vero Beach about 6 a.m. Wednesday. At least five others came ashore near Stuart late Wednesday, Stolen said.

"We believe this will be the first mass stranding of melon-headed whales in Florida," Stolen said today. "There may also be more out there."

Biologists predicted that some of the whales from the weekend stranding in Brevard County would wash ashore again. Many of the whales spotted by beach goers near the Sebastian Beach Inn were pushed back into the surf.

The whales, some of which were dead when they washed ashore, usually stay about 25 to 30 miles offshore, Stolen said. Necropsies - autopsies for animals - were being conducted at the Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institution in Fort Pierce.

"We haven't found any significant problems, some of them were a little emaciated," Stolen said.

 

[Sherri]

This is such sad news. I wonder what caused this.