Updated: A pygmy whale died in Myrtle Beach area surf. Here’s what we know so far.

UPDATED: 3:35 p.m.

A pygmy sperm whale died on Myrtle Beach near Pirateland

SCDNR said the whale died of natural causes. It was alive for awhile on the beach but died shortly after.

When whales get sick they typically come to shore. The whale is estimated to weigh 300 pounds.

Horry County Beach Patrol arrived around 12:30 p.m. after receiving a call about the beached whale. Officials are getting ready to move the whale now and a biologist from Charleston will test the whale.

The beach patrol was on scene to keep people away and secure the whale.

Here’s what we know about the beach whale in the Myrtle Beach area

Horry County officials are on the scene of a local beach responding to what appears to be a beached sperm whale.

The whale is located south of the Myrtle Beach State Park.

A dead whale washed ashore at Huntington Beach State Park in 2019. The whale was roughly 11 feet long and was about 50 yards from the ocean. Scientists haven’t determined the animal’s age.

“This is not unusual,” Rob Young, professor of marine science at CCU, said to the Sun News back in 2019, adding that while it’s not outside the norm to find these animals stranded from time-to-time, they’re typically not seen until they wash up on beaches.

Young said it’s unknown why these creatures end up stranded along the shore, but usually there is something wrong when this happens.

He said there are about 55 strandings each year along the South Carolina coast, and this is the second most common type of marine animal stranding just behind bottlenose dolphins.

Check back for updates.