Beached sperm whale brought to shore in Sarasota County

Trevor Sochocki
·2 min read

VENICE, Fla. (WFLA) — The beached whale off of the coast of Venice has died, according to officials.

Laura Engleby of NOAA’s Marine Mammal Branch confirmed the whale’s death, although it is not known what killed it.

Engleby said the whale died overnight, so now the agencies at the scene are trying to get rope around the whale’s tail so they can pull the whale on-shore to do a necropsy.

According to experts, the whale appeared thin. Since sperm whales are a deep-water species that live deep in the Gulf of Mexico, the fact that a sperm whale beached in this condition suggests it wasn’t doing well.

“Obviously this whale wasn’t feeling very well and wasn’t doing very well to be this close to shore and in this kind of condition,” she said.

Florida Fish & Wildlife Conservation Commission officials will decide Monday what to do about the 50,000 to 70,000-pound beached sperm whale.

According to the city of Venice, biologists wanted to sedate the 50-foot-long animal on Sunday, but the strong winds and dangerous surf conditions prevented any response besides monitoring the whale.

Now that the whale has been brought to shore, there is concern that bodily fluids from the whale carcass will bring predators like sharks to the beach. As such, a no-swim advisory has been issued by the city of Venice.

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Venice officials said it was located about 50 yards from shore near the Service Club Park.

Some aerial photos show a reddish liquid in the water, but Mote Marine biologists said that is ink, not blood. Like squids, biologists said sperm whales can produce a dark ink to help escape from predators or when in distress, but it’s also common to see before a whale dies.

The Venice Police Department is asking all boats and vessels to stay out of the whale’s area, and the area directly around the whale is restricted until further notice, as police were at the Service Club Park Beach overnight Sunday into Monday.

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