Beached Whale Rescued In Malibu Euthanized After Hitting Rocks In Low Tide

MALIBU (CBSLA) — A stranded sperm whale required the help of Los Angeles County Fire Department crews and lifeguards when it washed ashore a Malibu Beach Sunday.

Lifeguards on Malibu Surfrider Beach were first made aware of the beached pygmy sperm whale just before 4:45 p.m. Sunday, who in turn alerted authorities with LACoFD.

A combination of crews worked together to load the whale onto a truck where it was then transported to the California Wildlife Rescue organization at around 5:15 p.m.

The California Wildlife Center issued a statement to CBS reporters Sunday evening, which read:

"We received a call that an adult Pygmy Sperm Whale had stranded in the Malibu Lagoon on Sunday afternoon. With the invaluable assistance of Los Angeles County Lifeguards and Fire Dept., we were able to remove the whale from harm's way on the beach. The whale was in poor health and had sustained many injuries as a result of hitting against low tide rocks.Working with NOAA, we opted to humanely euthanized the animal, in order to prevent additional suffering."