Police try to rescue stranded whale found off Orchard Beach

Police worked throughout the day to free a whale that got stranded off Orchard Beach.

After hours in the water, examining the whale, Chief Scientist at the Atlantic Marine Conservation Society said they were left with no choice but to euthanize it.

"We didn't want the animal to be suffering by going down to the bottom, so humane euthanasia was the best choice we had," he said.

The 911 call came in at 11:25 Sunday morning for a beached marine animal. Originally, it was thought to be a dolphin stuck in the 2 feet of water at Orchard Beach.

The NYPD, marine biologists and a slew of onlookers were on hand for the attempted rescue of whale.

Pictures and videos first showed up on social media.

The 15 foot, two and a half ton Minke whale was stranded and unwilling, or unable to get back out to sea.

Constance Gonzalez was on hand with her kids when she came across the whale.

“My kids were like ‘oh that's a dolphin,’ but when I saw it spout the water,I was like oh no that's a whale,” she said.

The whale reportedly swam around for a while, but couldn't get out of the bay.

Officials have not commented on the cause of the cuts found on the whale while marine biologists from the Riverhead Marine Foundation examined it.

The effort came just months after another whale, a 20-ton humpback, was beached on a sandbar near Moriches Bay on Long Island

After being stranded for several days in November, officials had to euthanize it.

 Sergio Oquendo was on at the beach when he witnessed police trying to save the stranded whale, and posted pictures and a video on Instagram.