Federal wildlife officials euthanized a sick killer whale after it washed ashore at Brennecke's Beach on Kauai.
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration spokeswoman Wende Goo says the 18-foot-long female was emaciated and had shark bites, as well as whale lice. She says they are signs the orca had been sick for some time.
Goo says a Hawaiian cultural practitioner conducted rites Wednesday for the animal before it was killed.
A necropsy is to be performed to determine what was ailing the whale.
The animal washed ashore early Wednesday, attracting about 500 people.
John Boulay is a manager at Brennecke's Beach Broiler. He says people tried to push the whale back into the ocean, but it kept washing back.
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