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Thursday, November 2, 2017, started out like any other day.
I fed the dog, took him out, checked email, and scrolled through Facebook over breakfast and a steaming, hot cup of java. Those of us who are locals, of course, have our own facebook group. And I noticed a post that someone had made about a whale that had beached itself near the pier.
At first, I didn’t think much about it. Then I realized that seeing such a magnificent, monumental animal up close and personal wasn’t something that happened often. So off to the beach I went. Cars were lined up on each side of West Beach Drive and parked anywhere and everywhere! Most of them had two tires on the pavement, which is illegal on this little island. I feared I would be ticketed for parking that way myself! But ticket or not, I was going to see that whale! But as luck would have it, I found a legal parking spot at the 25th public access.
It wasn’t hard to tell where the whale was located.
Once I made my way to the dunes because several people were beginning to congregate all in one spot. Locals were in the water holding wet towels on the whale while others stood back and observed from the sand. Marine biologists had been summoned from UNCW, but had not arrived yet. People were very distressed because it was taking them entirely too long to get there.
A little while later, the water started to become tainted with blood.
Everyone that was in the ocean got out, which probably wasn’t a bad thing in hindsight. Law enforcement was none too happy that anyone was in the water anyway. Though they had permitted locals to use towels and sheets on the whale to keep him wet until help arrived, they were nervous. Word also arrived from Fort Fisher that it was very dangerous for anyone to be in the surf with the whale. Not just for us as humans, but for him, and he was already overly-stressed, anyway.
Toni Anne Porter
“OKI”, as he has become known, wasn’t far offshore at all.
In fact, I was surprised to see how close he really was. The tide had been going out, which wasn’t an advantage for him. The odds of him surviving were already slim. Most of the time when a whale finds its way to the shore, there’s usually a reason for it. That reason is never good: either it’s been injured, has gotten lost from it’s pod, or is sick and has made its way to shallow water to die. From what I’ve been told, is rather innate for them.
Therapy Dog Jake came out to see what all the fuss was about! Christopher Johnson is his owner.
Once the people from UNCW arrived, two marine biologists waded through the water to get to the whale.
I studied their reactions closely. I could tell by the staid concern on their faces that they didn’t think OKI’s situation looked promising at all. They measured him and somberly walked around him checking for anything obvious that might tell them what was happening.
Sperm whales are deep-diving mammals.
Once they made their way back to shore, one of them explained that the whale was a male juvenile sperm whale, approximately 1-3 years old (which later became 2-3) and that he was very emaciated because it looked like he hadn’t eaten in awhile. They projected his weight to be between 25,000 to 30,000 pounds and he was about 30 feet long. The fact that OKI was in the surf wasn’t a positive thing, as they usually live at least 100 miles offshore, with the more realistic distance being 200 miles.
Marine biologists from UNCW assessing OKI
As the afternoon wore on, things began to look bleaker and bleaker.
The initial plan was to wait until the high tide came in to see if the whale would be able to free himself and swim back out into the ocean. With every thrash of his tail, each spout of water from the blowhole on the top of his head, and every movement of his body, no matter how small, I held out hope that he would somehow free himself. But high tide never came for OKI, because as the hours passed, things began to look very grave. Eventually, the decision was made to euthanize him because he was bleeding heavily and suffering.
I assumed that people would leave the beach once the injections were given, but most didn’t.
In fact, some of them stayed until well after sunset, watching as equipment was brought in to pull the whale out of the water. The faces that were once filled with hope that OKI would survive slowly settled into the knowing that his fate had already been decided long before they knew it was. I, too, had hoped that all of us would witness the young whale freeing himself and swimming back out into the depths of the waters from which he had traveled.
Sadness.
I just wasn’t meant to be and the sadness that hovered over everyone congregated on the shoreline was more formidable than I could ever begin to convey to you just by writing about it. You could feel the sorrow it as it soaked into you from each and every person standing on that shoreline: Heaviness. Despair. Hopelessness. Defeat.
Latane Forester
On Friday morning, I returned to the beach.
As I approached OKI, I noticed he was much smaller than I had remembered him the day before. He was tethered at the tail to a backhoe and people were touching him and saying goodbye. Not long after, marine biologists and their crew started the necropsy right there on the beach. We were permitted to observe.
Several of us stood on the beach for hours.
I’m not going to tell you it wasn’t graphic and bloody because it was; however, it was also fascinating to watch alongside the familiar faces that had kept vigil the day before. OKI’s fins had to be pulled up and held with a chain that was attached to one of the several pieces of equipment because they were so heavy. Piece by piece, they methodically cut away the skin, taking pieces to to the biologists who bagged them for further study. And as the morning turned into afternoon, tissue samples and a host of other things were taken in hopes of finding out what happened to the young whale. Then deep, deep hole was dug near the dunes to bury him.
Histopathology reports on OKI’s organs and tissues aren’t back yet.
Nothing obvious was found during the necropsy that gave us any information as to why OKI was stranded in the shallow shoreline. His belly was empty, which indicated that the marine biologists were correct when they had mentioned the day before that it looked like he hadn’t eaten in awhile. Sperm whales love giant squid, and the fact that he hadn’t been feeding indicates that he was in distress for quite awhile–long, long before he made his way to our shores here on the island. There’s much speculation that OKI got separated from his pod and was unable to survive. There are a lot of unknowns, which is disheartening to so many of us who stood vigil with him.
People say lots of things like it’s just the circle of life, and perhaps it is.
But what I really love about this community is this: when something bad happens here, the locals always come running to the rescue. Whether it’s to wade into the water fully-clothed to comfort a stranded whale stuck in the surf until help arrives, or to surround a family who has lost everything they owned in a house fire. They show up and just do what needs to be done, come what may. It’s a tight-knit group of people who band together and take care of their own, which is a rare, yet remarkably beautiful thing. I am humbled and so honored to be fortunate enough to live amongst these kind-hearted, determined, whale-loving people.
The video was taken by local Danielle Gregory Louviere. If you listen closely, you can here OKI “clicking” after Danielle says the words “click click click”. This is how whales communicate.
Rest in peace, OKI. I hope that there’s an oceanic heaven somewhere and that you are feeding on the finest of squid and contentedly swimming as much as you wish to. Despite the fact that you couldn’t be saved, I hope that in some way, a piece of our hearts went with you.
Latane Forester
See you next week,
Much thanks to all the locals who graciously allowed me to use your photos and videos. If any of the credits were improperly given, please contact me so that I can correct them (wine, ya know…). A great big shout out to Lucy Perdue! She walked the sand at the team’s request and helped keep all of us on the straight and narrow. I will never forget watching you run toward a man who was taking photos of the whale with your arm pointing into the air all the while yelling “No sir! NO SIR!” You did a fantastic job!

“I wish he went back, kinda felt emotional. Thanks for sharing this one, midst of all kinds of posts this felt really real!”
“I wish he had gone back too, but it wasn’t to be, unfortunately. Thanks for your comment, Sangeetha!”
“I have always wanted to see a whale in real life but swimming freely in the great ocean so hopefully my first time encounter one is not like this sad story! While reading I was hoping for a happy ending but I stop when I saw the world euthanize. RIP Oki!
“I was hoping for a happier ending as well, no doubt. Thanks for dropping in at Truly Madly Sassy!”
Such an emotional and heartfelt posting dear one. It tugged at my heart strings.
Hi Cathy! It was definitely sad. Thank you for taking the time to read and comment! XoXo!
“I saw this on the news in Charlotte! Thanks for writing about the whale who didn’t make it back to sea. It’s really sad, but this is how things work out sometimes. Love your blog.”
“Very sad how it ended, for sure! Thanks for commenting!”
Thank you so much for sharing this beautiful story of such a majestic creature!
“It. Was. Oh. Mazing! Thanks for stopping in, Mary Ann!”
“Wow! What a crazy story, and how sad. I guess these things happen but its not something I would often think about.”
It was a rare occurrence here on the island! Sad and amazing at the same time! Thanks for your comment Elise!
“So sad, but great to hear about the wonderful community you belong to. Thanks for sharing.”
“It’s a great community, Cassie, that’s for sure! Thanks for dropping in!”
“Wow! This was so beautiful. Thanks so much for sharing.!
“Thank you so much, Kathryn! Nice to see you!”
“This was so beautiful, thank you so much for sharing.”
Thanks for commenting Rishav!
“This made me tear up! I love visiting Wilmington and I try to a couple times a year, everyone there is so nice and friendly.”
“I love this area, that’s for sure. Thanks for commenting, Leslie!”
Aww poor OKI!! beautiful and captivating story!
Thank you Monique. It was so sad!
“I have never seen a whale myself and would have never imagined a situation like that, thanks for this beautifully written article!”
Thanks for dropping in at TMS! Come back anytime 🙂
this makes me so sad. Thank you however for sharing. I had not even heard of this particular story although I have seen many pictures of other marine like that washes up on shore.
“It was very sad, and so amazing at the same time. The most touching thing was how the community just waded right in and comforted it. One man was in very nice dress clothes and shoes. Like a suit without the jacket and tie. And he went right in….didn’t even take his shoes off. That is what kind of community I live in. I am so blessed. Thanks for commenting!”
“Wow! This was a heart wrenching situation but beautifully written Kristi. It made me think about my last blog where I explore the same issue only with humans. What does it mean to live fully and when is it appropriate to let go. It truly took your whole village to love, honor, and release this whale from a torturous situation. A touching tribute Kristi, thank you.”
“Thank you so much Cheryl! So many of us left that sandy seashore completely broken by the fact that nothing could be done for OKI. I think you make a valid point about what it means to live fully and what it means to know it’s time to let go–there’s such a fine there, for sure. I appreciate your comment! Feel free to drop in anytime!”
“Thank you for sharing what this Island is really about. OKI local
“Hi Karen, the pleasure is all mine. I am honored to be a part of it! Thanks for commenting!”
“I’m a local, too – and wrote a blog post about the whale as well. :)https://seejamieblog.com/the-day-the-whale-came/
Hi Jamie! Thanks for sharing! i read your blog and thoroughly enjoyed it!
That was so beautiful. It made me cry. And thank you so much
“Thank you so much, Patricia! It’s out of the scope of my usual niche, so my biggest hope is that I did this article the justice it right deserves. Drop in at Truly Madly Sassy anytime!”