Pilot Whale
/ Wikimedia Commons / Erik Christensen
BEAUFORT, S.C. (AP) -- A 16-foot pilot whale has died after stranding itself on a South Carolina beach.
Officials say the whale was found about 10 a.m. Thursday between the Fripp Island bridge and the Hunting Island pier at Hunting Island State Park.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration plans to remove the whale and place it on a trailer for a necropsy.
Veterinarian Al Segars with the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources said it's at least the third pilot whale to beach itself in the area. Segars said he doesn't know what has caused the stranding, but it is typical behavior for pilot whales.
There was another stranded whale near Pritchards Island, and another whale died Tuesday on Edisto Beach.
