The sperm whale that washed up on Fort DeSoto Park in Pinellas County was emaciated and chronically ill, according to a necropsy on the 15-ton mammal.
Pending test results may determine specifics of the disease.
The veterinarians and scientists - who had been monitoring it since Sunday as it drifted in shallows near the mouth of Tampa Bay - could not save it, so the whale was euthanized Tuesday.
The whale was a 30-foot older female, officials said. They said the carcass would be buried after the necropsy.
Sperm whales are found in deep water area of the Gulf of Mexico. Usually, they are not found near shore.
She was the third sperm whale in 10 years to strand itself on Florida's west coast shores.
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