A rare whale that washed up in Long Beach Tuesday did not survive, despite frantic efforts by good Samaritans to save it.

Scientists from the Riverhead Foundation for Marine Research had to euthanize the 15-foot female northern bottlenose whale. It is the first time the species has been documented in New York.

Researchers say this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to examine the animal, and they will perform a thorough necropsy. They say they will be testing the whale for a virus that has been killing dolphins.

Scientists from the Riverhead Foundation say it will take several weeks to determine if the whale was injured or sick. They say they found no evidence that the whale had been injured in a ship strike.