40-foot whale found floating in South Kingstown pond. What we know

Rescuers are attempting to save a juvenile whale found in Potter Pond in South Kingstown.

Sarah Callan, manager of animal rescue at Mystic Aquarium, said the 30- to 40-foot whale is most likely a fin whale but could be a sei whale. Callan said a call came into Mystic Aquarium around 6:30 a.m. Thursday and responded with the R.I. Department of Environmental Management.

Emaciated but with no other sign of physical injury, the whale likely was so weak that it floated in with the tide, according to Callan. The hope was the during the noon high tide the whale would be able to free itself, but that didn’t happen.

"We want to do what is best for the animal. We don’t want it to suffer or prolong its suffering,” Callan said.

By the early afternoon with news of the whale public, there was a steady stream of people braving the winter wind to stand on a nearby dock to see the whale.

“It’s sad,” said Jim Martin, who came with his wife Marcie, a wildlife photographer. “It’s strange how he got in the shallow.”

Even over the whip of the wind, people could hear the whale’s breathing. And as each new person came by, almost all had the same question: why couldn’t the whale be moved?

With the whale weighing about 25,000 pounds, Callan said trying to tow the whale back out sea is too dangerous.  “You can paralyze them by doing that," Callan said. "Their body is so heavy that if you pull them by the fluke, the spine will break. Unfortunately, there is not an easy way to move an animal of this size.”

And even if it was towed back out to sea, Callan said given the weakened condition it was likely to restrand somewhere else.

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If it is a fin whale, Callan said it’s not a common species for Rhode Island, with it more commonly found around Cape Cod.

“We have had one of them in the past, but I’ve never had them in my eight years here. It’s a rare occurrence, an unfortunate, very sad scenario," Callan said.

With the whale unlikely to be saved, Callan said next steps are under consideration, with euthanization likely.

This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: Whale found in Potter's Pond, South Kingstown, unlikely to survive