"Officials Investigate Stranding of 70-Foot Sperm Whale off Venice, Florida Coast"

A sperm whale is beached on a sandbar off the coast of Venice, Florida, prompting law enforcement officials to close the entrance to Service Club Park as wildlife teams assess the situation. The whale, still alive as of Sunday afternoon, is being assisted by police and members of the Sarasota County Sheriff’s Office. Sperm whales, the largest toothed whale species, faced population decline due to human harvesting until whaling was halted in 1988, and are now protected as an endangered species.