The humpback whale beached around 6 p.m. Saturday
YACHATS, Ore. (KOIN) — A young humpback whale that beached along the Oregon coast on Saturday was euthanized Monday afternoon after officials made “a very difficult decision.”
Jim Rice with Oregon State University’s Marine Mammal Institute said the decision to euthanize the 3-year-old female whale “was a very difficult decision. We use euthanasia as a very last resort.”
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The decision was reached by a number of agencies involved, including the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
“The amount of time that the whale spends on the beach basically is negative for its health. Animals degrade over time when they’re out of the water,” Rice said Monday. “Given the state of the whale’s health and the sea state, and the fact that it’s extremely unlikely that it would be able to survive another day on the beach, we decided jointly that euthanasia is the best.”
With input from veterinarians at the scene, NOAA ultimately made the call. First, veterinarians sedated the whale to render it unconscious, then potassium chloride was injected into its heart.
A young humpback whale beached in Yachats was euthanized, November 17, 2025 (KOIN)
Rice said this kind of decision is one that evolves over time.
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“Last night (Sunday) there was thoughts that maybe that would have been an ideal time, but it was getting dark and it wasn’t safe. The tide was going to be coming in, so we have to put human safety first,” he said. “And we also thought maybe if we had one more chance when we’re high tide this morning to try to refloat it, that was worth doing as well.”
Rice said they will perform a necropsy on the whale.
“We will examine the organs of the animal and look for any signs of illness, any preexisting condition that they may have had prior to stranding,” he said. “We’ll collect tissues that we can share with the scientific community and help better understand whales biology overall.”
The parks department will likely bury this whale on site once the necropsy is complete.
