'Very rare in our waters': Palm Coast sees first ever stranded orca whale in Southeast

A 21-foot orca whale died on Wednesday morning after beaching itself in Palm Coast, the Flagler County Sheriff's Office posted on Facebook, and officials from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) say it's the first orca stranding ever recorded in the Southeast.

A video shows the marine mammal washed ashore, unresponsive, with waves crashing over it. FCSO stated there were no obvious signs of trauma on the body.

Deputies were on the scene south of Jungle Hut Park in Palm Coast and have closed Jungle Hut Road due to large crowds gathering to see the whale. FSCO asks individuals to avoid the area at this time. Marine biologists from SeaWorld and officials from the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission were assisting with the whale's necropsy and removal.

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Many Facebook users expressed their sadness at the situation, and surprise at seeing the whale in Flagler County. Orcas, also known as killer whales, are more abundant in colder waters like Antarctica, Norway and Alaska, but are also found in tropical and subtropical waters, according to the NOAA Fisheries division.

Shortly before noon, FCSO posted that crews from Hubbs-SeaWorld Research Institute and Flagler County Government were working to move the orca. Photos showed straps tied around the whale with over a dozen people working to pull it out of the ocean.

Killer whale is first ever stranded in Southeast, NOAA says

Erin Fougeres, Marine Mammal Stranding Program administrator for NOAA's Southeast region, said this was the first killer whale stranding they've ever recorded in the Southeastern United States, "which makes it a really unique situation that we can learn from."

Orcas are rare in the region, which spans from North Carolina to Texas and includes Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. There is a small Western North Atlantic stock of killer whales, as well as a stock in the Gulf of Mexico with around 267 individuals, she said.

"Killer whales in the Western North Atlantic, we really don't know much about them, and in U.S. waters, they're characterized as uncommon or rare in those waters, although there are about 14,000 whales in the broader North Atlantic ranging from Canada over to the Faroe Islands (north of Europe)," Fougeres said. "We know they're out there, but they're very rare in our waters."

Some threats to killer whales include entanglement in fishing gear, ship strikes, contaminants, ship noise and overfishing affecting their food supply, Fougeres said, but they don't know yet what may have caused Wednesday's stranding of the adult female.

NOAA has personnel on scene helping coordinate the recovery of the carcass, which will be transported with their partners to SeaWorld for a thorough necropsy as soon as possible. Fougeres said they are trying to transport the whale as soon as possible to collect the freshest samples, and analysis of tissue samples can take weeks to months.

"We'll be doing a full investigation into what might have caused this animal to strand, or if it's sick, what might have caused that," she said. "We're eager to learn as much as we can about this whale and about the species, and we really rely on the public to report these events when they happen."

Killer whales are protected under the Marine Mammal Protection Act. Individuals can report stranded marine mammals at 877-WHALE-HELP (877-942-5343).

Contact reporter Danielle Johnson at djohnson@gannett.com.