Whale euthanized after it is found on Galveston beach Whale found on Galveston beach euthanized

Volunteers attempt to rescue a pygmy sperm whale beached in Galveston today. Volunteers attempt to rescue a pygmy sperm whale beached in Galveston today. Photo: Jennifer Reynolds, Galveston Daily News Photo: Jennifer Reynolds, Galveston Daily News Image 1 of / 3 Caption Close Whale euthanized after it is found on Galveston beach 1 / 3 Back to Gallery

GALVESTON — A pygmy sperm whale, found stranded in shallow surf by a child looking for seashells, was euthanized Wednesday to end its suffering.

A veterinarian who examined the whale determined that the animal couldn't live in captivity and was in no condition to be released, said Heidi Whitehead, operations coordinator for the Texas Marine Stranding Network.

"The attending veterinarian has determined that keeping the whale alive in the rehabilitation tank will prolong suffering for the animal," Whitehead said in a news release. "Therefore, the decision has been made to put the animal to sleep in the best interest of the animal."

Whitehead said the condition of the whale, which is about 12 feet long and weighs more than 1,000 pounds, had deteriorated rapidly in the hours since its arrival at the network's facility at Fort Crockett.

"Stranded marine mammals usually come to the beach for a reason and will return to the beach consistently if pushed back into the water," Whitehead said.

Efforts to rehabilitate pygmy sperm whales in the past have failed, she said, because of the inability to provide proper nutrition and a deep diving environment in captivity. The species also is vulnerable to heart problems, Whitehead said.

A veterinarian injected the whale with chemicals that caused a painless death, Whitehead said.

A necropsy will help to determine the cause of the stranding and generate useful research information, Whitehead said.

She said 20 pygmy sperm whale strandings have been documented on the Texas Coast during the network's existence.

Keith Wilkins of Forney and his daughter Allison, 11, were looking for seashells when Allison spotted the whale in shallow surf off Galveston's west end about 7 a.m. It was the last day of their vacation in Galveston.

"At first I thought it was a piece of plastic," Allison said of the animal.

Allison and her father summoned her mother, who called authorities. A stranding network volunteer who lived nearby was on the scene in minutes, and Wilkins helped the volunteer prevent the whale from drowning by keeping its blowhole out of the water for about an hour.

Early reports had suggested that the animal was a newborn sperm whale, but upon examination, authorities determined it was an adult pygmy sperm whale — a member of a different family of toothed whale.

The whale was first secured in a foam-padded harness in the back of a pickup truck, then taken to a tank at the stranding network's facility at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration in Fort Crockett.

harvey.rice@chron.com