May 18, 2013
FORT PIERCE, Fla. (AP) -- A field biologist counting sea turtle nests made a surprising find on a Florida beach: the body of a rare beaked whale.
Grant Baysinger made the discovery Thursday morning on a South
Hutchinson Island Beach. The biologist with Ecological Associates
says the whale looked recently deceased and had several shark
bites.
Stephen McCulloch, founder of the Marime Mammal Research and
Conservation Program says beaked whales are very rare, and that the
carcass is a treasure trove of information to help learn more about
them.
Researchers are conducting a necropsy to determine the whale's cause of death.
