Bystanders at Delaware's Woodland Beach were unable to save two whales that repeatedly washed ashore, a report said.

People on the beach managed to drag a mother pygmy sperm whale and her calf back into Delaware Bay Tuesday, but the animals washed ashore again, The Philadelphia Inquirer reported Wednesday.

The 9-foot-long mother and her calf were euthanized by researchers.

Marine Education, Research and Rehabilitation Institute Executive Director Suzanne Thurman said a necropsy would be conducted on the 750-pound mother.

Delaware Bay has become known for having pygmy sperm whales swim ashore for unknown reasons, but Thurman said Tuesday's incident was troubling.

"Usually if they strand, something's wrong," Thurman said.

The whale calf, which was not yet a year old, would not have survived in the wild without its mother, the newspaper said. // Copyright 2007 by United Press International


Publication date: 20 September 2007   

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