Necropsy doesn’t suggest cause of whale’s death at Hanna Park

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission performed a necropsy on a whale that washed ashore at Hanna Park in Jacksonville, but the report does not reveal to researchers how the whale died.

According to the report, the whale had a heavy infestation of parasites, and researchers noted a healed scar from a previous entanglement in a fishing line. Notably, there was nothing man-made found in the whale’s body.

The whale, an adult 7-foot dwarf sperm whale, was found near Entrance 9 of Hanna Park last Wednesday morning.

FWC crews arrived quickly, and crews said the whale was still alive when it was transported from the beach, but it did not survive.