Pilot whale near North Lake in 'poor health,' had to be euthanized

A pilot whale spotted near the shore of North Lake, P.E.I., was in poor health and had to be euthanized, saysFisheries and Oceans Canada.

"On Monday evening it was decided to give the marine mammal time to see if it would recover. That did not happen," said a statement from the department, which worked with the Atlantic Veterinary College to assess the animal.

"After close monitoring and health checks by veterinarians the decision was made to euthanize the whale [Tuesday] afternoon."

The AVCwill be conducting a necropsy on the whale, with plans to bury it when that is complete.

Fisheries and Oceans Canada noted that pilot whales are not classified as a species at risk, and are common in the waters near P.E.I.

'Something we don't see every day'

Local fisherman Jeffrey MacNeill first heard about the whale Monday afternoon.

"It's something we don't see every day," MacNeill said."Everybody's full of concern. They're feeling bad, this poor little whale."

MacNeill estimatesthe whale was more than four metres long, and was in shallow water.

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