TAVERNIER, Fla. — Marine mammal rescue officials found a rarely-seen species of whale dead on a sandbar in the Florida Keys on Sunday.
According to a social media post from the Dolphins Plus Marine Mammal Responder, officials from the Florida Fish and Wildlife Coalition called the DPMMR about reports of a live dolphin bleeding near Tavernier Island.
When the DPMMR's stranding coordinator, Steve McCulloch, answered the call and made his way to the location by boat, he found a large ocean mammal stranded in the sandbar. The animal was determined to be a Mesoplodont, a species of beaked whale that typically lives in deeper waters and is rarely seen anywhere near the surface.
The post said McCulloch investigated the whale closely with the help of officials from the FWC and the National Marine Fisheries Service and ultimately determined it was dead. The agencies are now working with students from the University of Miami to try and figure out the cause of death by performing a necropsy on the whale.
The Dolphins Plus Marine Mammal Responder asks anyone who sees a marine mammal in distress to call 888-404-FWCC.
