Reports over the weekend of a sick sperm whale came in, it was washed up on shore this morning. My lab mates and I immediately went over to check it out. I wasn't completely sure why the whale was dragged back out to the sea, but according to news reports, it is because the Mayor would not allow the animal to have a necropsy done on the beach, as the smell would be overwhelming during the height of tourism season. This video is the efforts, and final success, of dragging/nudging the sperm whale back into the ocean, so that it can be necropsied and samples taken out at sea..