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Posted: Tuesday, January 15th, 2013 9:00 AM HST

Baby humpback whale stranded off Hawaii beach dies

By Associated Press

HONOLULU (AP) — A baby humpback whale that was found floundering in shallow waters off Hawaii's Kawaikui Beach Park has died. David Schofield, with NOAA's Marine Mammal Response Network, says the carcass will be removed from the beach. He says tissue will be examined at Hawaii Pacific University in an effort to determine why the baby whale died. KHON-TV reported that the whale died shortly before 9 p.m. Monday. A fisherman found it alive but in distress late in the afternoon. Schofield says the baby whale was stranded due to being separated from its mother. He says the calf was in poor shape when found. Schofield says this is the time of year in which humpback whales are giving birth. He says each year four or five newborns wash up on beaches.