Kailua Beach
A necropsy is being performed on a whale that died off Kailua Beach.
The melon-headed whale was brought to shore Friday morning after it was spotted Thursday.
Initially, state officials reported two whales, swimming in circles in waters off Kailua beach.
Experts thought there were two whales because several fins were sticking out of the water, but on Friday morning, they discovered it was only one melon-headed whale in distress.
"So if you were looking from far away, it was the fin and the fluke and it looked like two dorsal fins, but it was just the whale on its side," said David Schofield with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
The 9-foot-long adult female whale died about 30 minutes before it was taken to shore. It weight about 500 pounds.
"Even though they're common to these waters, how uncommon is it to have it so close to shore?" KHON2 asked.
"These are deeper water animals, so the point you're making is a good one, is that when they come in shore, that tells us there's something wrong," Schofield said.
Officials believe the whale had been swimming on its side for at least 16 hours and was located about 300 yards offshore.
By the time experts got to it Friday morning, the whale had died.
Comment: Here is the Sott worldview of sinkholes during the last year alone.