Humpback whale stranded, euthanized along Oregon coast



WALDPORT, Ore. (AP) — Oregon officials say a juvenile humpback whale was euthanized after washing ashore southwest of Portland near Waldport.

Oregon Public Broadcasting reports a team with the Oregon State University-based Oregon Marine Mammal Stranding Network was working Wednesday to relieve the 20-foot (6-meter) whale's stress by keeping it wet and digging out around it, but the whale did not return to the ocean during two high tides.

Contractors with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration arrived Thursday to evaluate the whale's health and assess whether to wait for additional high tides, help it back to the ocean or euthanize the animal.

The director of the Marine Mammal Institute at OSU's Hatfield Marine Science Center, Bruce Mate, says the animal was too young to live on its own.

The Oregon Department of Parks and Recreation confirmed that the animal was euthanized.