Yesterday, the NYPD attempted to rescue a minke whale that appeared to beach itself at Orchard Beach in The Bronx. Unfortunately, though cops and other agencies were able to briefly free the whale, it was unable to swim on its own, and the whale has since been euthanized.
The Atlantic Marine Conservation Society (AMCS), which worked with the NYPD to free the whale yesterday, announced the whale's death on its Facebook page. "Despite best efforts to get the whale to swim freely, it continued to sink and restrand," AMCS said. "The most humane course of action was to euthanize the whale to prevent further suffering as it would not have survived in the wild." You can read the whole statement below:
Witnesses spotted the whale at around noon yesterday, noting it was stuck in about two feet of water. Police from the NYPD's Harbor Unit attempted to assist it, and were later joined by NYPD Special Ops, the Emergency Services Unit, and cops from the 45th Precinct. Beachgoers also tried to help the whale, or at least give it breathing room.
“It was nice to see that people weren’t trying to like take selfies and you know, trying to glamorize it,” witness Lucy Dalton told CBS 2. "They were trying to help, and people felt bad and they were calling 911 and anyone; the Coast Guard, you know, to try to help this poor animal."
AMCS's chief scientist told News 12 the whale was underweight, and otherwise not in good health.
