Beached whale found in Ocean City has died, officials say

FILE PHOTO: A beached whale that drew a crowd of onlookers Sunday morning along an Ocean City beach has died.

Credit: Ben Pruchnie/Getty Images

Credit: Ben Pruchnie/Getty Images

FILE PHOTO: A beached whale that drew a crowd of onlookers Sunday morning along an Ocean City beach has died.

A beached whale that drew a crowd of onlookers Sunday morning along an Ocean City beach has died.

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The juvenile sperm whale was found around 6:45 a.m., the Baltimore Sun reported.

The Marine Animal Rescue Team from the National Aquarium was sent to assess the whale's condition, WJZ reported. They said around 1:30 p.m. that it had died.

The Maryland Department of Natural Resources and Ocean City police will remove the marine mammal from the beach. Researchers will then conduct a necropsy to determine its cause of death.

"As you can imagine, this has been a challenging day for not only Aquarium responders and partners, but all those on the beach throughout the morning," an aquarium spokesperson told the Sun.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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