A terminally sick humpback whale that became stranded on a beach in Western Australia two weeks ago was euthanized Thursday with an explosive charge.
After attempts to return the juvenile whale to the sea failed, the state Department of Environment and Conservation had intended to let the 31-foot (9.5-meter) creature die naturally. The whale was stranded on a beach in Albany, about 240 miles (390 kilometers) southwest of Perth, the state capital.
But the department's district manager, Mike Shepherd, said in a statement that the whale moved into a position on a sandbar in which it could be stabilized and euthanized.
Explosives were used because officials believed the whale was too large to shoot. The International Whaling Commission recommends the use of explosives to euthanize beached whales longer than 26 feet (eight meters).
