Morehead City, North Carolina - A stranded beaked whale died before animal rescuers could help it. An autopsy revealed that a balloon stuck in its stomach had killed the creature.

When the beachgoers found a beached Gervais's beaked whale – a rare marine mammal that lives deep in the ocean – it was still alive.

By the time the NC Marine Mammal Stranding team arrived, however, the animal had sadly died.

Police, Emerald Isle utility workers, and beachgoers pulled the almost eleven-foot-long marine mammal out of the surf and transported it to the Center for Marine Sciences and Technology (CMAST) at the University of North Carolina.

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Per CMAST's Facebook post, scientists, veterinarians, and students performed a necropsy to determine what caused the whale's death.

Everything appeared normal until the researchers opened the whale's stomach. Researchers found milk, which they say indicates that the female was a nursing calf. They also discovered the cause of death – a crumpled-up plastic balloon blocking the animal's digestive tract.

This beaked whale, still just a calf, starved to death.

While discussing the whale's tragic death, researchers urged the public to use biodegradable decorations instead of plastic or Mylar balloons.

They asked that people who do use balloons take care to dispose of them properly: "Please make sure all gases have been removed from balloons prior to discarding. This can avoid them getting ‘loose’ and posing an unnecessary and tragic danger, causing wildlife to starve and perish over time, as in the case of this unfortunate Gervais’ beaked whale."

The North Carolina scientists say that around 125 marine mammals wash up on North Carolina's beaches every year for various reasons. Some die of natural causes like disease, but others pass due to human litter such as balloons or fishing gear.