VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. — A whale was found entangled off the coast of Virginia Beach, according to a social media post made by Rudee Flipper Dolphin and Whale Watching.
The Rudee Tours team determined that this is the same entangled whale that was last spotted off the New York coast in Oct. 2025. According to the social media post, the whale was spotted on Jan. 14.
"Unfortunately whales face many human related threats including entanglement and ship strikes. Although this was a hard post to make, it is important for us to advocate for the whales. We can all help on a daily basis by choosing sustainable fishing, shopping locally, educating others, and choosing responsible whale watching companies," the social media post reads.
Warning: graphic content depicted
The Rudee Tours group stayed with the whale to document its status and confirm its entanglement. However, it is illegal to get too close to them, so they couldn't be near the whale indefinitely. A professional disentanglement team needs to be contacted to handle this situation.
Rudee Flipper Dolphin and Whale Watching asked boaters to call the Virginia Aquarium's Stranding Response Team at (757) 385-7575 to report a sighting of the whale near the Virginia and North Carolina coast.
