MAUI, Hawaii -- Marine mammal experts and volunteers tried valiantly to save a small whale off Maui this weekend.

The effort failed and the sick whale had to be euthanized.

Before his death, the pygmy killer whale shined new light on his mysterious species.

When a pod of five pygmy killer whales appeared off Kihei on May 1, it was thought they were just disoriented or that one with huge red soft barnacles blocking its mouth may have been dying.

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration mammal expert David Schofield paddled out to investigate.

"This was very fascinating because we see in mass strandings. We see healthy animals trying to help sick animals and the healthy animals going to shore," said Schofield.

The male whale around which the others rallied was eventually left alone and it stranded itself at McGregors Beach. Well intended bystanders pushed it back into the sea.

Volunteers eventually moved the whale to the whale sanctuary complex at Kihei, where it was clear the whale was diseased, elderly and dying.

After a Hawaiian prayer, the whale was euthanized and a CAT scan confirmed it was dying of severe pneumonia.

"So, we think this was just a very old man whale and it was his time and he was coming to shore to check out," said Schofield.

Pygmy killer whales are not an endangered species, but because they live far offshore in deep water not much is known about them. The stranding gave experts a chance to learn about their behavior.

"The fact that these individual whales will hang around with this one individual during its time of dying and when it got close to stranding and dying they left -- they kind of knew -- I think that's really interesting," said Schofield.

NOAA officials said they will use the case to develop techniques that might actually save stranded whales in the future.