About 20 pilot whales washed ashore Avalon Beach State Park in Fort Pierce Saturday morning, according to reports.
WPTV reported the whales ranged from small juveniles to adults weighing one ton.
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Scientists from the Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute and the Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission were working to determine which whales could be saved and which would have to euthanized, WPTV said.
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"This species has a tight social structure," Blair Mase, stranding coordinator for the southeast region on the National Marine Fisheries Service, told WPTV. "Typically, they stay together as a group. So if one animal is sick, they all come ashore. If you push them into the water, they'll just keep coming back and stranding themselves on shore."
