Injured baby sperm whale loses fight for survival
By Brandon Masuoka and Curtis Lum
Advertiser Staff Writers
A baby sperm whale that beached itself Sunday near Kona on the Big Island died last night despite the efforts of rescuers to keep it alive.
Associated Press
The whale was found off Ali'i Drive near the Banyan surf spot in Keauhou. Bystanders said the female whale rammed its head on lava rocks as it tried to beach itself.
Marine mammal experts, from left, Drew Scullion and Eitan Kalama yesterday examined a baby female sperm whale that beached itself near the Banyan surf spot in Keauhou on the Big Island. The whale later died.
Beachgoers, firefighters and members of Dolphin Quest helped rescue the whale early yesterday and took it to a holding tank in Keahole. A veterinarian said the whale still had its umbilical cord attached and was about two weeks old.
The whale suffered some scrapes and scratches as it came over the reef.
By yesterday afternoon, it had appeared to regain some strength and was eating a special milk formula, said Charlie Nahale of the state Department of Land and Natural Resources.
He said veterinarians hoped to stabilize the whale and then take it to Sea Life Park on O'ahu, but it died at about 7 p.m. Ideally, Nahale had said, the young whale would be returned to its mother.
Nahale said the baby whale may have been part of a pod of sperm whales spotted about five miles out of Kealakekua Bay.
He said sperm whales aren't usually found in Hawaiian waters at this time of year.
