Baby sperm whale beached on Little Gasparilla Island

LITTLE GASPARILLA ISLAND (FOX 13) - A baby sperm whale that beached itself on Little Gasparilla Island has arrived at the fish and wildlife lab in St. Pete for a necropsy.

Several people saw the whale and tried to keep it hydrated before FWC officials arrived. Trish Gorry told FOX 13 News they decided to name him Bubba while encouraging him to swim back out to safety.

Unfortunately, biologists say the whale was in very bad shape and had to be euthanized.

The tests they do at the lab will try to determine what was wrong with the 20-foot whale which was too young to be separated from its mother. 

Sperm whales are one of 25 species of whales and dolphins that live in the Gulf of Mexico. They can grow up to 70-feet long.