For 1st time this year in NJ, whale found struggling on beach

🐳The pilot whale tried to swim back out into the ocean only to return

🐳It eventually began sinking into the sand under its own weight

🐳It was very lethargic and underweight

SEA BRIGHT —The first whale of the year to strand on a Jersey Shore beach had to be euthanized because of its weak condition.

On Wednesday, the Marine Mammal Stranding Centers stranding team was called to an area ¼ of a mile north of the Ship Ahoy Beach Club in Sea Bright where a long-finned pilot whale was lying on its side and struggling in the surf.

Witnesses said the whale was initially swimming into open water only to turn around and beach itself.

It later was trying to trying to free itself and head to open water but kept sinking in the sand, according to the MMSC. When the stranding team arrived, they found a 14.5-foot-long male pilot whale stuck in the surf.

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'Very lethargic and underweight'

It wasn't easy to move the whale by hand because of rough surf and the receding tide. The closest access point for heavy equipment was over 2 miles away at the Sandy Hook Gateway National Park.

"Upon examination by MMSC’s veterinarian, the whale was found to be very lethargic and underweight. The whale’s weakened body condition, along with the animal stranding himself again when he was clear of the surf, made the whale’s prognosis for survival very poor. After veterinary assessment, the decision was made to humanely euthanize the animal to prevent further suffering," the MMSC said in a statement.

The initial necropsy found the whale's lungs to be pale and filled with green mucus. Its overall body condition was thin, and its GI tract was completely empty.

Nine whales were stranded on New Jersey beaches in 2024, according to MMSC records.

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