To the editor:
A lot of people are hurting today. Attempts to save the stranded humpback whale just north of Yachats were unsuccessful, and she had to be euthanized.
That’s not the ending any of us were hoping for, and it’s bringing up a lot of feelings; sadness, anger, disappointment, frustration, and questions about what could have been done differently.
It’s natural that, in moments like this, people look for answers. Some need someone or something to blame or wonder whether more could’ve been tried.
But maybe this is a good time for all of us to take a breath and assume good intent.
The folks from the stranding network, the marine biologists, the veterinarians, the responders, none of them get into this work because they’re indifferent. They care deeply. They lost something today too. They spent hours with this whale, watching her struggle, trying to keep her comfortable, hoping she might turn a corner. They feel this.
But here’s the hard, heartbreaking truth the scientists and rescue teams know well: Their resources are limited. But even if they weren’t, a 10,000-pound whale in rough surf cannot simply be pushed, lifted, dragged, or floated to safety.
Not by excavators. Not by helicopters. Not by airbags, trenches, ropes, or jet skis. Not without causing catastrophic injury to the whale, or the humans trying to help.
No, these folks on the ground aren’t indifferent. They aren’t slow. They aren’t lacking compassion.
They know the dangers of cold water, unstable sand, unpredictable waves, and the immense reality of a moving a mammal the size of a school bus in the midst of all of that … all while trying to keep people safe.
Of course they are grieving this loss.
And the volunteers who stayed by her side, pouring water on her, keeping her wet, talking to her, making sure she wasn’t alone, they were showing real compassion too.
There was no wrong side out there on the beach. Just a lot of people trying to show up in the only ways they knew how.
The truth is, sometimes even our best efforts can’t undo what’s already happened to an animal this large and this injured. And that’s heartbreaking. It’s okay to grieve that. It’s okay to wish the ending were different.
But turning on each other won’t change what happened. It just adds more pain to a moment that already hurts.
Maybe what we need most right now is a little grace … for ourselves, for each other, and for everyone who tried.
No villains.
Just a community that cares deeply, facing a loss none of us wanted.
— Bob Barrett/Yachats
