WELLS – The Maine Department of Marine Resources is performing an autopsy on the remains of a whale that had to be euthanized after it beached itself in Wells.

The department’s strandings coordinator, Lynda Doughty, says the female pilot whale was in poor health but it’s unclear why it came up onto Wells Beach.

The whale first beached itself on Friday, but passers-by pushed it back into the water. Doughty said the whale remained close to shore and beached itself again Saturday morning. She said the whale was in “rough condition” and had to be put down.