Whale washes up on Folly

Scientists at marine lab to look for cause of death

FOLLY BEACH — A dead 10-foot-long, 800-pound pygmy sperm whale washed ashore Friday morning.

A surfer found the adult male whale at East Arctic Avenue and 6th Street East. Using a four-wheel vehicle, scientists dragged the whale a half-mile along the beach to 2nd Street East. There, it was winched aboard a trailer and taken to a local federal marine lab for a necropsy.

Wayne McFee, a marine biologist with the National Ocean Service, said it is unusual to have this particular species strand locally. Pygmy sperm whales are deep-water mammals typically found near the Gulf Stream. The whale feeds on squid, and it dives 3,200 feet or more for its prey. "We don't know the cause of the death until we get inside of it," McFee said.

The whale was missing chunks of skin, had a scarred mouth and a broken tooth. McFee said the injuries could have been caused by sharks or by the whale rolling around in the surf.

He said the stranding is of particular interest to marine scientists from around the Southeast, who just concluded a conference in Charleston on pygmy sperm whale deaths. The necropsy could provide clues about whether ocean conditions are deteriorating, he said.

McFee said scientists don't know why these whales wash ashore. Serious heart disease is found in about half of the stranded whales. Two pygmy sperm whales were found dead last week at Botany Bay Island off Edisto Island, he said. Because of the remote location, the whales were not be retrieved for study.

The dead whale at Folly was reported about 7:30 a.m. McFee said it is more common to find dead bottlenose dolphin in area waters. A pygmy usually is found still alive when it washes ashore, he said.

More pygmy strandings are being found around the Southeast, a concern to scientists who consider the species an indicator of the ocean's health. "They can tell us what's going on out there," he said.

Typically, about 30 pygmy strandings occur each year in the Southeast, he said, but scientists don't know how many pygmy sperm whales exist. "There are a number of people in the Southeast working on this particular species," he said.

Strandings are erratic in South Carolina. Some years there are none, but up to eight beached whales have been reported in other years, he said. South Carolina typically has 45 marine mammal strandings annually, and about 80 percent of them are bottlenose dolphins, he said.

A small crowd gathered to see the whale. McFee advised spectators not to touch it, and any who did were urged to wash their hands as a precaution.

Observers said the sight made them sad. "You look at his little face and you think, 'Why?' It is heartbreaking," said Carol Linville, beach resident and president and founder of Pet Helpers Adoption Center on Folly Road.

"They're just as intelligent as we are. We are having a devastating impact on this planet of ours," said resident Jack Glueck.

In April 2007, officials euthanized an emaciated pygmy sperm whale found beached on Sullivan's Island. The same month, another distressed pygmy was photographed off Kiawah Island and reportedly died, though scientists never found it. A pygmy and her calf stranded and died on Sand Island in Georgetown County in June 2005.