Newborn whale found Tuesday on Hatteras beach euthanized

A live newborn right whale found Tuesday morning on a Hatteras Island beach has been euthanized.

The Virginia Aquarium stranding response team conducted a necropsy on site. The results are not yet available, although an initial examination revealed a defect in the whale's digestive system.   

The male calf, about 15 feet long, stranded on the beach near Avon village. 

Michelle Bogardus, a biotechnician with Cape Hatteras National Seashore, said that reasons the newborn was separated from its mother can include injury or disease.

“Abandonment can be caused by something wrong with mom or something wrong with baby,” she said.

Northern Atlantic right whales are “critically, critically endangered," Bogardus said, with only about 350 to 400 remaining. Members of the marine mammal stranding network are expected to arrive at the site today to investigate.