21-foot killer whale washes up on Florida beach 

The discovery of the 21-foot killer whale washed up on a Florida beach on Wednesday morning was a tragic sight for local residents and authorities. 

The Flagler County Sheriff’s Office reported that deputies were called to the beach south of Jungle Hut Park in Palm Coast after a passerby, Derek Pence, spotted the 5,000-pound animal and called for help.

Pence, who regularly walks the beach in the morning, said that when he first saw the whale, he hoped it could be rescued. He said that the whale appeared to be alive when he first spotted it. 

“When I called I was really hoping for a rescue and not a recovery,” Pence said. “... It appeared it was alive when we first came up on it.”

Deputies are on scene south of Jungle Hut Park in Palm Coast after a 21-foot orca whale beached itself this morning. It has since lost its life. @SeaWorld and @MyFWC are also assisting with its necropsy and removal. Please avoid the area at this time.#FlaglerCounty #FCSO pic.twitter.com/HcDx0ns225

— FlaglerSheriff (@FlaglerSheriff) January 11, 2023

The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission was immediately contacted, and a team of experts was dispatched to the scene. The whale eventually lost its life when it couldn’t make it back into the sea.

“Just to see this big of an effort is fantastic, I love it and I know they’re struggling, but I really hope they get her off and figure out what happened to her,” Pence added.

According to Dr. Erin Fougeres, administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Southeast Region, marine mammal stranding program, the orca is the first reported in the southeast region of the U.S. Blair Mase. 

“We’ve never had one actually beach itself. So this is extremely rare and our job is to find out the potential cause of death and get as much information as possible from this animal,” Mase said.

“We’re starting to see unusual species, species we don’t typically see, here in the South East appearing more and more in sightings and strandings,” Mase added. 

The authorities have said that SeaWorld will be performing a necropsy to determine the cause of death of the whale. However, it could be weeks before the results come back.