BOSTON, Oct. 11 (UPI) -- A pilot whale found stranded on a Massachusetts beach died while two others found with it have been rescued, authorities said.
A walker found the three sea mammals on a Duxbury beach Monday, but one died before help arrived, the Boston Herald reported.
A team from the New England Aquarium's Marine Animal Rescue Unit responded to the report of the stranded animals.
"When they arrived they found one already dead and two in shallow water," New England Aquarium spokesman Tony LaCasse said.
"It sounded like a boater helped with the other two whales," he said.
Veterinarians from the aquarium performed a necropsy on the 3,000-pound adolescent whale to determine the cause of death, LaCasse said.
"Normally, in pilot whales, if you see them in small groups or individually it means there's usually an underlying health issue," said LaCasse, noting the blubber layer on the deceased 15-foot whale was a little bit thin.
"We haven't seen the other two whales, so they've most likely headed out to deeper waters," he said.
