SAN MARINE, Ore. (KATU) — A young humpback whale that washed ashore on the Central Oregon coastline after getting tangled in crabbing gear was euthanized after a group of volunteers were unable to get it back into the ocean, officials said.
The whale, a roughly 1 to 2-year-old humpback, washed ashore on Saturday.
The community rallied through the weekend, trying their hardest to get the whale back into the water. At high tide on Monday morning, they used ropes to once again free the beached whale, but the were unsuccessful.
The whale was euthanized Monday evening, said Oregon Marine Mammal Stranding Network Program Manager Jim Rice at Oregon State University.
PAST COVERAGE | Humpback whale beached on Oregon coast, tangled in crabbing gear
Lisa Ballance, the Director of the Marine Mammal Institute at Oregon State University added that the situation was “rapidly” changing, and that they did not have the resources available for a full-scale rescue effort.
The decision to euthanize the whale was made after a failed attempt to reorient and tow it back to sea.
Ballance noted the complexity of moving such a large animal and the risk of injury.
“It’s a complicated assessment that is changing all the time about what’s the best thing to do with the animal,” she said.
A humpback whale washed ashore Saturday night on San Marine, Ore., and is set to be euthanized on Monday, Nov. 17, 2025 according to witnesses and local officials/KATU News
The Oregon Marine Mammal Stranding Network will conduct a necropsy to determine the cause of the whale’s stranding.
The whale’s body will likely be buried on the beach, though final arrangements are undetermined.
Ballance said this is part of a broader issue of marine mammal entanglement in fishing gear, noting efforts to mitigate the problem in collaboration with the fishing industry.
Despite the tragic outcome for this individual whale, Ballance pointed out that humpback whales as a species are a conservation success story, recovering significantly since the end of industrial whaling.
A humpback whale washed ashore Saturday night on San Marine, Ore., and is set to be euthanized on Monday, Nov. 17, 2025 according to witnesses and local officials/KATU News
The Oregon Marine Mammal Stranding Network has instructions and ways online to report a stranded animal.
