The Story of "Pickles/Hope," a Stranded Humpback Whale

This is our description of the live stranding event involving a juvenile entangled and stranded whale, named Pickles/Hope. This young whale stranded in Yachats, Oregon, and was eventually killed by the officials who were supposed to help him. This account is based on eyewitness accounts, live coverage, official sources, numerous citizen reporters, and media reports and news articles.

The official response to this live stranding was plagued by delays, poor organization, false communication, and patronizing, even hostile attitudes towards the public and the locals.

Yet, during this event, it was the locals who emerged as real heroes. Not only did they stay with Pickles/Hope during the first night (November 15/16), cut the rope, poured water, and used towels to keep the whale wet, but they also made valiant efforts to refloat the whale twice, Saturday evening/night and Sunday morning at the high tide. The local community donated heavy equipment, time, fuel, and personnel, but they were taken for granted and were barely acknowledged.

The official rescue effort was actually attempted early Monday morning, around 41 hrs after the whale was first reported. Not only was it extremely brief (around 30 min in total), but it was poorly organized and lacked a backup plan. The efforts were terminated prematurely, a whole 2 hours before the high tide on Monday.

The blood test taken on Sunday afternoon was normal, and by then, Pickles/Hope had been fully stranded for over 24 hours. This really puts into question the powerful official narrative of how a stranded whale declines rapidly due to crushed organs from being stranded, and how it is the main reason not to rescue and to euthanize.

On top of it all, the whale was sedated at least twice, Sunday night and Monday, before the high tide. He was given a cocktail of medications, including sedatives, anti-anxiety drugs, and who knows what else. All these medications had a strong potential to significantly impair the whale and hasten the euthanasia decision, especially because the dosage was based on an approximated weight, as the whale’s true weight had been unknown and remains unknown (it was not measured during the necropsy).

The preliminary necropsy report failed to show any smoking gun or serious ailments incompatible with the whale’s survival.

All in all, this stranding event once again demonstrated the complete failure of the US stranding network in its response to live strandings. The time has come for significant change, and we hope that the despicable way in which Pickles/Hope was treated has opened the public’s eyes and will be the much-needed catalyst for this change.

List of Organizations that responded to this case: West Coast Marine Mammal Stranding Network, Oregon State Parks, Oregon Marine Mammal Stranding Network, Marine Mammal Institute at Oregon State, Pacific Marine Mammal Rescue Center, Cascadia Research Collective, SR3 – SeaLife Response, Rehabilitation, and Research.

The timeline below is tentative and subject to change as we get more information and official reports, including the full necropsy report. We want to thank Rebel With a Cause, Jenny Rae Nelson, and an anonymous contributor who provided the images for this timeline.