UPDATE: Would-Be Beached Whale Appears to Be OK

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FLORENCE -- A whale that came perilously close to the beach at low tide appears to have ben able to free itself, Oregon State Police reported Friday night.

An OSP Fish & Wildlife trooper, personnel from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Marine Mammal Stranding Unit from Newport, and the US Coast Guard monitored a reported whale in shallow surf Friday afternoon for over 3 1/2 hours north of Florence. The whale apparently was able to move away from shore as the tide moved in.

According to Senior Trooper Scott Salisbury, a report was received late Friday afternoon that US Coast Guard personnel in a helicopter were monitoring a whale that may have beached itself about one mile north of Driftwood Shores near Sutton Creek in the Florence area. Salisbury and NOAA personnel responded to the scene to monitor the whale which was estimated 40- to 50 feet in length and was seen in shallow surf off the beach.

OSP and NOAA personnel were unable to confirm the whale species, but it's is believed to be a sei (say) whale, which normally wouldn't be seen close to shore. They did not know if the whale was intentionally trying to beach itself.

As the tide continued inward, the whale appeared to be moving away from shore at about 5:45 p.m. OSP, NOAA and a US Coast Guard helicopter unit continued to monitor the whale until darkness.

As of Saturday its fate is unknown.

Jim Rice coordinates a network that responds to stranded marine mammals.

He says the whale spent several hours in waist-deep water getting pounded by waves north of the Siuslaw River on Friday afternoon. He says it appeared debilitated, and there was blood in the water - which might have been from the pounding.

At about dusk, Rice says, the whale started swimming parallel to the coast, staying upright, and then submerging and surfacing to breathe.

On Saturday morning, the Coast Guard made two flights but didn't see the whale.