A young pilot whale washed up on a Naples beach May 22, social media posts show.
Pilot whales are found in the Gulf, and they are a highly social species.
Several posts on social media reveal that a pilot whale that looks to be 8 or 9 feet resting in shallow waters as officials with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission and the city work to keep it shaded and its skin hydrated.
With pilot whales, the big concern is that an entire pod will follow one sick or injured individual, and they will eventually all become stranded or sick.
That was the case in 2014, when dozens of pilot whales beached in Naples and near Lovers Key State Park in Bonita Springs.
“They live in stable female-based groups of about 15 to 30 animals composed of close family relatives, but pods of up to several hundred individuals have been seen,” the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, or NOAA, website reads.
In that event, 37 short-finned pilot whales beached themselves in Lee and Collier counties, after a group of 23 came in to Gordon Pass and into Naples Bay.
A pilot whale beached here also March 9, and it had to be euthanized by biologists.
Pilot whales are found in warm, tropical waters
The Gulf is thought to be home to about 1,300 short-finned pilot whales, with nearly 19,000 total short-finned pilot whales living along the East Coast, NOAA says.
The Hawaii population has another 19,000, but scientists don’t yet know how many short-finned pilot whales are found in places like Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.
Other whale species found in the Gulf include the sperm whale, the humpback whale and Rice’s whale, a critically endangered species.
Chad Gillis is an environment reporter and can be reached by email at cgillis@news-press.com.
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This article originally appeared on Naples Daily News: Pilot whale beaches in Naples, isn’t first time this year
Reporting by Chad Gillis, Fort Myers News-Press & Naples Daily News / Naples Daily News
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
