Whale found stranded near Carlin Park in Jupiter may hold keys to mighty mammal's health

JUPITER — The depths of the Atlantic paid a visit to the beaches of Palm Beach County last week when an 8-foot whale washed up on the shore just south of Carlin Park.

A beachgoer spotted the dead whale early Friday, according to a statement from The Coastal Stewards , a nonprofit that studies marine life in South Florida. The whale stranded itself a day after Hurricane Milton churned the waters off Florida's coasts.

The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission alerted the nonprofit Marine Animal Rescue Society about the whale, which had "several cookie-cutter shark bites," said Shelby Loos, the nonprofit's marine life conservation director.

People who work with the Stewards, Loggerhead Marinelife Center, Palm Beach County Ocean Rescue and the Jupiter Police Department moved the whale into a van and took it to Gumbo Limbo Nature Center in Boca Raton .

There, scientists will conduct a necropsy — an animal autopsy — on the whale. The Stewards said they hope the investigation will better inform them about whale health and the challenges these mammals are facing in the wild.

The Stewards said they had not confirmed the whale's exact species, but its scientists think it is a pygmy or dwarf sperm whale. These types of whales live in deep, offshore waters. This makes them difficult to study in their natural environment, according to the release.

These whales live in temperate and tropical oceans and are on the smaller side when compared to others. All told, there are an estimated 300,000 sperm whales left worldwide.

Whale strandings — which happen when they wash ashore alive or dead — happen a few times each year on Florida beaches. Loos urged people to call FWC immediately if they find a stranded animal.

Generally, marine mammals wash ashore because they are sick or injured, or because they become disoriented by ships and shallow waters . Loos also said ocean water churning like the Atlantic did during Milton could "contribute to weak or debilitated marine life getting pushed closer to or onshore."

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Maya Washburn covers northern Palm Beach County for The Palm Beach Post, part of the USA TODAY Florida-Network. Reach her at . Support local journalism: Subscribe today .