Venice (Florida), Mar 11 (AP) A sperm whale that became famous after beaching itself on a sandbar along Florida's Gulf Coast died Monday, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission said in a statement.

Police and wildlife officials began trying to free the male whale from the shallow sandbar off the beach in Venice on Sunday morning. They had estimated it to be about 70 feet (21 metres) long. Biologists confirmed Monday that it was actually 44 feet (13 metres) long, the agency said.

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By Sunday evening, the whale suffered from laboured breathing and died around 3 am Monday. The biologists had a difficult time helping it Sunday because of water conditions.

Biologists will collect samples to determine the cause of death, which could take several weeks.

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Venice is about 75 miles (120 kilometres) south of Tampa. (AP)

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)