![A young beached whale was spotted off Treasure Island Beach on Sunday morning. It was rescued and transported to Sea World in Orlando for evaluation. [Treasure Island Police Dept.]](https://www.tampabay.com/resizer//KNo1SqNDsAPO_zsKdO_ZqPkSoOk=/426x0/smart/filters:format(webP)/arc-anglerfish-arc2-prod-tbt.s3.amazonaws.com/public/KCO2ZJGJHEI6TAOPPAY4DVT77I.jpg "A young beached whale was spotted off Treasure Island Beach on Sunday morning. It was rescued and transported to Sea World in Orlando for evaluation. [Treasure Island Police Dept.]")
A young whale was rescued Sunday morning after it was found beached on the shore off Treasure Island.
The Treasure Island Police Department, along with volunteers from Clearwater Marine Aquarium, responded to a report of a beached whale around 7:50 a.m. in the 8400 block of the beach.
Police said the whale was transported by the aquarium's volunteers to Sea World in Orlando for treatment. Information regarding its condition has not been released.
"We are hopeful for a full recovery and its safe return to the Gulf waters," police said in a post on its Facebook page. "We will update with a status of the whale as we learn it."
The exact species is not known, police said, but it measured 7 feet long and weighed about 400 pounds.
An officer held the whale upright on the shoreline to help it breathe while other officers and volunteers monitored its breathing until further help arrived.
A small pod of similar whales was seen circling the area about 200 yards offshore. As whales are social mammals, it is likely they were searching for their lost pod member, police said.
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