Rex Gudgel, of Jefferson, Ga., supports a pygmy killer whale while waiting for a Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission rescue team to arrive.

Pygmy killer whale habitats usually include deep waters of the subtropics. Pete Greenan, fishing with Rex Gudgel and Ron Whiteley, found two pygmy killer whales by the Boca Grande Causeway near Gasparilla Monday, June 16. One whale was swimming into a mangrove shoreline; the other had beached itself nearby.

Greenan called the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC), and FWC transported the two mammals to Mote Marine Laboratory’s Dolphin and Whale Hospital.

Veterinarians at Mote Marine reported both whales were very weak and needed support in the water, but both were receiving fluids and antibiotics. The last time pygmy killer whales were at Mote Marine was almost ten years ago, said veterinarian Charles Manire. Some of those whales had parasites in the brain, which is life threatening.

The two whales already have names: “Pete,” named after the captain who found the whales, and “Dallas.”