An extremely rare whale was found washed up on the beach on Gulf Islands National Seashore Monday afternoon, the second time in as many months that a rare deepwater whale has been found on a Panhandle beach and died as rescuers tried to save it.

The whale Monday was discovered on the beach at Gulf Islands, just east of Navarre Beach. The whale was a species of beaked whale, which is typically a deep-ocean whale and very rarely seen close to the Gulf Coast, according to Britany Baldrica, Emerald Coast Wildlife Refuge Marine Mammal Stranding Team coordinator.

“They are a very, very offshore, deep-diving species, they’re one of the deepest diving whales,” Baldrica said. “So we don’t see them close to shore ever, but this animal was extremely close to shore, which is an indicator it was very ill.”

The whale was alive when it beached itself but died shortly after rescuers arrived on scene Monday afternoon. The Emerald Coast Wildlife Refuge is the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's designated Marine Mammal Stranding Team for Escambia, Santa Rosa, Okaloosa and most of Walton counties, and a team of around 10 volunteers and employees responded to the scene. A necropsy will be performed Tuesday to determine its cause of death.

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On May 29, a rare pygmy sperm whale was found washed ashore on Blue Mountain Beach in Walton County, alive but very sick. The 12-foot creature eventually died while being cared for on the beach and was taken for a necropsy, the results of which have not yet been released, according to Baldrica.

Humans likely harmed, not helped, the sick whale

The 13-foot female beaked whale found Monday had been swimming close to shore since as early as the morning and had likely beached itself several times and been pushed back into the water by humans before someone called for help, according to Navarre Beach Fire Rescue Chief Danny Fureigh, who responded to the scene along with the fire department.

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Those who pushed the whale back into the water likely had good intentions, but they did more harm than good, Fureigh said.

“People just need to leave it alone, don’t try pushing it back into the water, it doesn’t need human interference,” he said. “We had several reports of this certain whale trying to push itself further down, and people kept pushing it off. They really didn’t help it at all, they hindered it.”

Baldrica said humans should never try to push a marine mammal back into the water if it has beached itself. Marine mammals strand, or get stuck on the beach, when they're in severe distress and it actually could save their lives, she said.

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“These animals strand because they’re either extremely ill or injured. There’s a reason dolphins and whales don’t show illness out in the wild, that’s how predators prey on them,” Baldrica said. “So instead of showing illness, they’ll actually beach themselves, because then they don’t have to fight off predators. So when you push the animal back into the water, there’s a better chance for them to get attacked by predators, and it exhausts them even more.”

By the time the Emerald Coast Wildlife Refuge was called for help between 2 and 3 p.m., the whale was extremely sick and exhibiting signs of weakness. It passed away after rescuers arrived but just before a veterinarian arrived on scene, but the Marine Mammal Stranding Team was able to collect critical blood samples that will further help biologists determine the animal's cause of death.

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The half-ton whale was loaded on to the back of a pickup truck and taken to the Dauphin Island Sea Lab in Alabama, where a necropsy is scheduled to be performed today by ECWR technicians.

Michelle Pettis, a wildlife rehabilitator with the refuge, said it wasn't immediately clear what may have led to the whale's death.

“There were definitely certain marks on it, possibly shark bites, and other external wounds, but nothing severely significant where you could say, 'That’s the key point,’” Pettis said.

The results from the beaked whale's necropsy will be compared with results of the pygmy sperm whale's necropsy to determine if the two deaths were somehow related.

It's unclear if whale deaths are related to dolphin deaths

The rare whales' deaths come as bottlenose dolphins are dying in the Gulf of Mexico at triple the average rate for this time period. According to NOAA, between Feb. 1 and July 5 — the last date for which data is available — 289 dolphins have stranded along the northern Gulf of Mexico, including in Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and the Florida Panhandle.

The dolphin strandings have confounded scientists and prompted NOAA to declare an "unusual mortality event," or UME.

A UME is defined under the Marine Mammal Protection Act as "a stranding that is unexpected; involves a significant die-off of any marine mammal population; and demands immediate response."

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Baldrica said it's unclear whether the dolphins' deaths are related to the whales' deaths, especially because dolphins live so much closer to shore than the whales do. But scientists are looking at any possible links.

“A lot of things we’re looking at with the dolphin die-off is the increase of freshwater in the Gulf of Mexico, as well as a blue-green algae breakout and human interaction-related cases,” Baldrica said. “With all of that, the inshore species are dealing with a loss of prey, so they’re preying on animals or fish they don’t normally prey on. So a lot of things are issues that affect mammals close to shore, whereas the whales are so far offshore, it’s hard to say whether they are related.”

If you see a whale, dolphin, manatee or any other marine mammal or animal stranded on the beach, it's important to not touch the animal in any way or try and push it back into the water. Instead, keep your distance and call the FWC immediately at 1-888-404-3922 or use the FWC app.

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The FWC will dispatch the closest Marine Mammal Stranding Team to the area to assist with rescue.

“If anyone ever sees anything abnormal with dolphins or whales or manatees, or if anyone has any questions about behavior, just call the FWC immediately,” Baldrica said. “That’s the best thing for the animal, and it’s the best thing for everyone involved.”

Annie Blanks can be reached at ablanks@pnj.com or 850-435-8632.