2024-03-12 02:09:03
The city of Venice in Florida’s Gulf Coast issued a no-swim advisory on Monday afternoon as researchers performed a necropsy on a large sperm whale that died earlier that morning.
Video shows the whale’s blood spilling into the ocean as researchers cut the animal open to perform the procedure. Officials warned that the whale’s bodily fluids spilling into the ocean would attract predators to the beach.
In response, the City of Venice released a statement, encouraging visitors to stay out of the water “in the areas south of Venice Beach including Service Club Park, Sharky’s on the Pier and Caspersen Beach.”
The 44-foot whale gained national attention on Sunday after police and wildlife officials attempted to rescue the endangered animal that had beached itself on a sandbar off Florida’s Gulf Coast.
According to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, researchers are collecting “samples to attempt to determine cause of illness and death and to better understand sperm whale health, and life history.” The process is expected to take weeks.
There are an estimated 1,100 sperm whales located in the Gulf of Mexico, but they are usually found in deep waters. According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, strandings close to the shore are rare.
Sperm whales are listed as an endangered species in the U.S.
The whale’s carcass will eventually likely be towed out to sea, taken to a landfill, or buried, officials said.
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