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HILTON HEAD ISLAND, S.C. —

A male sperm whale washed ashore on Hilton Head Island over the weekend and drew dozens of onlookers to Coligny Beach days later. Crews worked throughout Monday to conduct a necropsy and bury the massive marine mammal's feet beneath the sand.

According to NOAA officials, the 30-foot male whale was underweight for its size, which raised concerns about its health prior to beaching. Clay George, a marine mammal biologist with NOAA Fisheries, explained that researchers examined the whale for signs of entanglement or vessel strikes. However, it could take months to determine the exact cause of the beaching.

“It’s pretty sad, but it’s what any whale does,” said Regina Laboe, a visitor to Hilton Head Island for the week.

For many visitors, the sight of the beached whale was a rare and somber experience.

“I’ve seen sharks, I’ve seen stingrays, you name it. But never a beached whale,” Laboe said.

This marks the fifth beached whale in South Carolina since 2005. Sperm whales, known to beach themselves when in poor health, are a rare sight on the state’s shores. The whale was first spotted on Saturday, with a nearby hotel staff member capturing a photo of the scene.

Tourists and locals alike gathered to watch as crews conducted the necropsy and prepared the whale for burial.

“We walked probably a mile and a half to get here,” said Steve Doll, visiting from Tennessee. “I’ve never seen a whale up close. This is about as close as I’ll ever get.”

When asked by WJCL 22 News if the whale could've been put back in the ocean, George said that would've caused more harm than good for the whale. That thought led crews to the decision to euthanize the 20,000-pound adolescent male sperm whale Sunday night

Monday evening, the whale was buried deep enough to prevent other animals from disturbing it.

“I love the fact that they’re doing the right thing and burying it where it came out, rather than taking it away,” said Christy Doll, who was also visiting from Tennessee.

While the cause of the beaching remains unknown, NOAA researchers say the burial process ensures the whale will soon decay underneath the sand, where no other animal will reach it. They added that in a few weeks, it will be as if it never washed ashore.

A 20-ton juvenile sperm whale that became stranded on Hilton Head Island, South Carolina, was euthanized Sunday night after veterinarians determined it was too sick to save. The whale, measuring about 31 feet in length, beached itself near the Marriott Grand Ocean Resort on Saturday afternoon, drawing attention from both island officials and the public, the AP reports. According to a statement from Hilton Head Island officials, experts assessed the whale and found it too emaciated to survive, leading them to bring in a University of Florida veterinarian and specialized equipment. The animal was then sedated and euthanized humanely on the beach.

As part of the response, members of the local sea turtle patrol and staff from the Georgia Aquarium's veterinary program worked to keep the animal wet and as comfortable as possible while waiting for the veterinary team to arrive. After the whale's death, a necropsy was conducted on-site to help determine the cause of its illness and stranding. The whale is set to be buried on the beach. According to the Fish & Wildlife Foundation of Florida, whales that are sick or injured will sometimes strand themselves. The organization estimates that approximately 2,000 whales beach annually, with most cases ending in death. Officials have yet to release results from the necropsy.

Marine mammal biologist Clay George with the National Marine Fisheries Service tells the Island Packet that euthanization was the only realistic option. "There's not rehab facilities that can take an animal as big as a sperm whale," George says. "This is a 31 feet long animal, so moving it safely and putting it in a tank is just not an option." He says that if that whale had been pushed back in the water, it "almost certainly" would have ended up beached again somewhere else. "The reason it ended up here is because it wasn't able to maintain itself in the water and swim properly," he says.

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Watch: Juvenile sperm whale washed on shore as people on the beach watch the large mammal lay stuck in the sand.

People on the beach watch the whale lying stuck on shore. When whales beach themselves, it is usually because they are already seriously ill or injured.

HILTON HEAD ISLAND, S.C. – A sperm whale has been euthanized after beaching itself on the coast of South Carolina over the weekend.

The whale, which was believed to be a juvenile, grabbed attention after it was spotted on a beach on Hilton Head Island. According to town leaders, NOAA officials and marine mammal experts were quick to help comfort the whale as people began rescue efforts.

(Renaté Ann McNulty / Facebook)

Government officials said that the whale was severely emaciated and had likely been drifting in the sea for hundreds of miles before reaching the shore.

"When whales beach themselves, it’s often because they are already seriously ill or injured," Hilton Head Island officials wrote in a Facebook post. "In this case, euthanasia has been determined to be the most humane option.

The whale was sedated and euthanized late Sunday night using specialized equipment from Florida. The procedure was performed by a veterinarian from the University of Florida.

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(Renaté Ann McNulty / Facebook)

A necropsy will be performed to determine the cause of death and to better understand the challenges marine mammals face.

The Hilton Head Island Government stated that the whale will be buried once the necropsy is complete.

Warning: This story contains non-graphic pictures of the beached whale

HILTON HEAD ISLAND, S.C. (WBTV) - A live whale washed up on a South Carolina beach this past weekend.

The sperm whale was said to have still been alive when it washed up at Hilton Head Island, and town officials said trained professionals did “everything possible to keep it comfortable.”

Pictures showed the professionals dumping water on the whale and covering it with presumably wet cloths.

The town went on to say that whales typically beach themselves when they are “already seriously ill or injured.” Because of that, the town said experts determined that euthanasia was the most humane way of removing the whale from the beach.

Hilton Head Island officials said the type and amount of euthanasia medication was not readily available and had to be brought in from Florida. A veterinarian from the Georgia Aquarium was brought in to perform to the procedure.

Aside from the veterinarian, other people brought in to care for the whale included representatives from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and other marine mammal experts.

According to NOAA, male sperm whales can grow up to 52 feet in length, while females can be up to 40 feet long. More information about sperm whales can be found here.

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A beached sperm whale that washed up on Hilton Head Island Saturday evening was euthanized late last night, according to the town’s Facebook post.

The 31-foot whale is believed to be a juvenile, and washed up on South Forest Beach severely emaciated. It likely drifted “hundreds of miles” before ending up on Hilton Head, according to the post.

The rare sight attracted a crowd of beachgoers Sunday afternoon, who watched as workers covered the animal in sheets and doused it in water to reduce its suffering, as they awaited for specialized euthanasia equipment to be delivered from Florida.

A necropsy will be performed to probe deeper into what caused the animal to wash ashore. If tissue samples from the whale needs to be analyzed in a lab, that process could take months, biologists at the scene said.

After the necropsy, the whale will be buried in South Carolina, according to Nadia Lentz, a marine mammal biologist with Florida Fish and Wildlife.

Euthanizing the beached whale was the best option to minimize the animal’s suffering, according to marine mammal biologist Clay George with the National Marine Fisheries Service. The whale was already in visibly poor health, but rehabilitation was not an option.

“There’s not rehab facilities that can take an animal as big as a sperm whale,” George said. “This is a 31 feet long animal, so moving it safely and putting it in a tank is just not an option.”

Pushing the whale back in the water was also not an option, according to George, as the whale would have “almost certainly” washed up again somewhere else. “The reason it ended up here is because it wasn’t able to maintain itself in the water and swim properly,” the biologist said.

Like the beached whale on Hilton Head Island, live whales usually only beached themselves if they’re sick, injured, or in otherwise poor health.

One common cause of sickness is when the whale ingests marine debris, especially plastic. Whales can get entangled in fishing gear or get struck by boats.

Sperm whales are an endangered species, and about four of them strand themselves on beaches across the Atlantic coast per year.

George said there has been some increase in the number of whales washing up over the years, but it’s not known whether that’s due to an increase in sperm whale populations or an increase to the threats they face.

Lentz said the average person can help endangered whales by making conscientious choices about the food they eat and the products the buy, and picking up their garbage on the beach.

“Make those consumer choices count,” Lentz told beachgoers Sunday afternoon.

If you see a stranded or injured marine animal, do not push it back into the ocean, as biologists say it will likely wash up again somewhere else. Instead, call (877) WHALE-HELP to report the animal to the National Marine Fisheries Service.

This story was originally published May 5, 2025 at 11:04 AM.