Officials haul whale carcass off Venice Beach and out to sea

Rachel Tucker
·1 min read
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Editor’s note: The live video above contains footage of a bloodied, dead animal and may not be suitable for some viewers.

VENICE, Fla. (WFLA) — Officials are hauling a whale carcass off Venice Beach and out to sea on Tuesday.

A beached sperm whale appeared just off the coast early Sunday morning, but it died early Monday before crews could sedate and move it.

No Swim Advisory: Blood leaks from beached whale, may attract predators, Venice officials say

Researchers continued their necropsy process on Tuesday to determine the whale’s cause of death. The results of the necropsy will be released in the coming weeks and months.

Researchers ruled out some possible causes of death, like bowel obstruction from plastic or other ocean debris. They noted the whale had bite marks on its head, believed to come from another male sperm whale.

Once researchers finish taking samples to investigate the whale’s health, it will be towed out to sea. Officials are expected to haul the carcass 15 miles offshore during high tide.

Police will escort a boat operated by Sea Tow as the whale is carried offshore.

The mammal, a male, measured 44-feet-long and around 70,000 pounds. Researchers said it’s not normal for a sperm whale to be so close to the shore.

“You know they like the DeSoto Canyon, 2000 feet of water… Dry Tortugas,” said Gretchen Lovewell, a marine researcher. “So the fact that it was this close to shore and skinny tells us something has been going wrong for a while.”

The no-swim advisory remained in effect Tuesday as officials worried sharks and other marine life could be attracted to the whale’s blood. The advisory was expanded to include the South Jetty, Venice Beach, Service Club Park, Sharky’s on the Pier and Caspersen beaches due to a shift in the wind.

The Venice Fishing Pier remains open.

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