From her fifth-floor balcony, a South Florida woman said she saw a sperm whale drifting off the Pompano Beach coast in Miami, Fla.

However, the ailing whale, which eventually died, was apparently attempting to beach itself while two swimmers tried riding it to shore.

According to photos posted on her Twitter account on Dec. 16, Margie Casey witnessed the whale floating northbound along the shore when two individuals tried on two occasions to get on top of the near-dead mammal.

"I just couldn't imagine a marine biologist trying to do that," she told NBC Miami.

Casey explained that she thought the whale was initially alive due to its flapping tail. At roughly 11:45 a.m., witnesses said that the sea creature was about 40 feet from the shore, according to a spokesperson of Sheriff Veda Coleman-Wright. The Broward Sheriff's Office, a marine mammal rescue team, and the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission responded to the scene.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration plans to investigate Casey's report. Blair Mase, NOAA's southeast regional stranding coordinator, spoke to the news station about the controversial matter.

"This whale was likely ill or injured and that is why it came in so close to shore," she said. "This type of harassment could have caused more harm and added stress to an already stressed whale and ultimately caused its demise."

While many people are likely not aware of the ramifications, Mase explained that it's a federal offense to harass a marine mammal.

"People need to be aware that they shouldn't do that," she added.

Marine biologist Stefan Harzen downplayed the swimmers' impact on the whale's death, saying that it's feasible that it could've been sick or hit by a boat.

"There's really very little you can do for a whale if it gets seriously ill or injured," he said.

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