A beached whale near John's Pass, Florida, was euthanized yesterday. Scientists will perform a necropsy on the beached sperm whale today, to determine what caused the beached whale in Florida to get sick. Why couldn't scientists rescue the 32-foot sperm whale?

On Thursday, hundreds came to see the more than 10-ton adolescent male, beached sperm whale on the shore in Florida. Marine scientists say the whale clearly was not well and was too big to take somewhere for medical care and rescue, USA Today reports.

If scientists were to push the whale back to the sea, he would have beached himself again somewhere else, according to biologists. Therefore, they couldn't rescue the beached whale and knew he would have to be euthanized.

Sperm whales are rarely seen close to shore, and this whale appeared to be emaciated, biologists said, CNN reports

"He didn't get to have a long and healthy life, which is quite a shame," Mike Walsh, co-director of the Aquatic Animal Health program at the University of Florida's College of Veterinary Medicine, told The Tampa Tribune.

By Thursday afternoon, veterinarians knew they couldn't help the animal at Madeira Beach, USA Today reports.

Scientists gave the whale a strong sedative before euthanizing him, by administering a drug through a 6-foot needle in the whale's chest cavity.

"Although it looks large and scary, it is a very humane thing to do," said Erin Fougeres, a marine mammal biologist with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. She added the technique has been used many times before on large whales.

"It's horrible," Sue Sciara told USA Today on Thursday, as she watched the tide roll out and the whale get nearer to death. "I'm an animal lover and it's just really sad."

The beached whale was then towed about 10 miles south to Fort de Soto Park. On Friday morning, scientists examined his remains for parasites and wounds and by afternoon they were determining whether he became sick from natural causes or interaction with humans.