Two whales found dead together on Florida beach, state says. Here’s what we know

Two whales found dead at a coastal park in northeast Florida are believed to be a mother and her calf, state officials say.

The discovery was made Wednesday, June 18, about a 15-mile drive northeast from Jacksonville, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission told McClatchy News.

“FWC staff responded to a report of two deceased Gervais’ beaked whales just south of Hanna Park,” state officials said.

“A lactating adult female, approximately 14 feet in length, and her 7-foot-long female calf were recovered and necropsied by our team.”

Results of the necropsy have not been released, but the data could reveal what killed the whales.

Investigators did not report if they suffered wounds of any kind.

Fatalities among Gervais’ beaked whales have been linked to entanglement with fishing gear and “man-made” underwater sounds that can drive them from critical feeding and breeding grounds, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration says.

The whales are protected under the Marine Mammal Protection Act and can reach 17 feet and 2,640 pounds, NOAA says.

“This species prefers deep tropical, subtropical, and warm temperate waters of the Atlantic Ocean but is occasionally found in colder temperate seas,” NOAA reports. “There is little information on the abundance of Gervais’ beaked whales worldwide.”