Response group confirms 3rd sperm whale has died off P.E.I.'s North Shore

The third of three sperm whales stranded off P.E.I.'s North Shore has died, a day after the first two massive creatures were confirmed to have perished, according to the executive director of the Marine Animal Response Society.

"What was decided yesterday, in the sense of the best thing for the animal and obviously with human safety in mind, was to let … nature take its course, let the animal pass peacefully," Tonya Wimmer said in an interview with CBC Radio's on Tuesday.

"But it's still pretty heartbreaking."

The three young male whales were first noticed Saturday night on the ocean side of a small chain of islands close to Hardys Channel, near East Bideford in western P.E.I. Each weighed between 15 and 20 tonnes, Wimmer estimated.

Groups work to assess condition of 3 stranded sperm w