A whale and its calf beached on Florida’s Neptune Beach were euthanized Sunday morning.

According to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, both the whales were euthanized after long efforts to rescue them failed.

Volunteers from the FWC, Marine Mammal Response, Atlantic Beach Ocean Rescue and lifeguards were informed about the condition of the two whales on Sunday.

Upon inspection, it was realized that the mother whale was most likely injured by a shark attack the calf was only a few hours old and was most likely born earlier on Sunday morning. It is also believed that the shark attached the mother and injured it badly while she was giving birth to its calf.

Eyewitness reports confirmed that following the shark attack, the calf followed its injured mother towards the shore where both the mammals beached.

Cheyanne Ruben from the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission said, “What may have happened was the mother was giving birth this morning near shore and a shark was in the area. Witnesses did report to us seeing a commotion where the shark may have been interacting with the adult female”.

After the whales were euthanized, a necropsy was performed on them. Ruben added that with a potential shark in water, it was ill-advised to put new neonate calf and her mother back there.

FWC officials mentioned that the whales do not do live well in captivity and were euthanized by researchers due to safety concerns. An autopsy of the whales will be performed at a facility in Buck Island.

The news about these two beached whales come just a few days after the Inquisitr reported about 100’s of whales beaching themselves in Japan.