Despite the efforts of marine mammal rescue volunteers and Ocean Shores residents, a gray whale that became beached on the bay side of Damon Point on Wednesday died near the water’s edge.
The whale is the second to wash up near Ocean Shores in the last week, and at least the third in the county in June.
“It breaks my heart,” said Mica Kouba, a stranding volunteer with the state’s Department of Fish and Wildlife who responded to an alert about the whale. “He was looking at me and trying to swim away.”
Kouba said he got the call at about 1:30 p.m. and came down to see what the stranding situation was. The caller had left the scene, Kouba said. Kouba said he’s been volunteering for mammal strandings since 2017, and that a background in nursing helped when he’d assist with necropsies.
“I don’t know how long he was sitting here,” Kouba said. “Nobody was here.”
The whale showed signs of severe malnutrition, which was determined to be a major cause in the death of the whale that washed up just north of Ocean Shores late last week.
“This one’s been starved. It’s very emaciated,” Kouba said. “He wasn’t in good shape.”
The whale was still moving limply when Kouba arrived, taking video of the tail moving sluggishly.
“It’s sad when they pass on you. He wasn’t in good condition,” Kouba said. “He tried. He got his tail up, he was trying. They just look at you and you know there’s something there.”
Cascadia Research Collective will be performing a necropsy on the whale Wednesday afternoon with the low tide, Kouba said.
“It’s important because he just passed away today,” Kouba said. “Sometimes they starve because of an injury.”
Many residents responded to a call to help by bringing buckets or towels to keep the whale cooled down, though their efforts were ultimately fruitless.
“I’d never done this before. I didn’t have anything I could bring but I have my hands,” said Maddie Pittman, an Ocean Shores resident who heard about the whale and came out. “I love animals. If I can help, I will.”
More than a dozen people came out to help, many spurred on by a social media post.
“(There was) a lot of really helpful people,” Kouba said. “Everyone was getting cold and wet and helping.”
The best way people can help a stranded animal is to call the stranding hotline at 866-767-6114, Kouba said, and, especially in the case of ostensibly stranded seals, to keep one’s distance.
“Call the number as soon as you see it,” Kouba said. “And stay with it if you can.”
