UNDIAGNOSED DEATHS, WHALES - USA: (FLORIDA)
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Date: Sat 9 Jul 2011
Source: TC Palm [edited]
<http://www.tcpalm.com/news/2011/jul/09/1000-pound-whale-second-found-this-week-in-river/?>
A half-ton pygmy sperm whale found dead late Friday [8 Jul 2011] on the beach near Bermuda Bay on State Road A1A by a visiting Texas couple will be studied to determine why these deep ocean marine mammals are swimming to land and dying.
Scientists want to know whether a heart disease similar to one that affects humans is the cause, said Steve McCulloch, manager of the Marine Mammal Research and Conservation Program at Florida Atlantic University's Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute in Fort Pierce.
The whale was the 2nd in 3 days to be found stranded on Indian River County beaches and the 8th this week to be found beached between North Carolina and the Florida Keys, McCulloch said.
"The last time we had this number of strandings in this amount of time was in 1998," he added.
Then, as now, scientists are unsure why the animals left their native open ocean environment to strand themselves on beaches. McCulloch said DNA analysis will determine if the whales were related to one another, possibly members of the same pod.
Blubber from the animals also will be tested to determine the presence of any natural or manmade toxins.
McCulloch said stranded whales often show signs of a heart muscle disease called cardiomyopathy, which also afflicts humans. It lessens the heart's ability to pump blood and is thought to be inherited. [I wonder what other stresses may cause the heart to show damage. - Mod.TG]
McCulloch said Harbor Branch staff veterinarian Juli Goldstein and Greg Bossart, formerly of Harbor Branch and now chief veterinary officer at the Georgia Aquarium, are studying cardiomyopathy in whales under a grant by the National Marine Fisheries Service.
The work done by Harbor Branch's Marine Mammal Research and Conservation Program is largely funded through the "Save Florida's Whales" specialty motor vehicle license plate, McCulloch said.
He asked anyone finding whales, sea turtles, birds, or other marine animals in distress to phone 1-888-404-FWCC.
[Byline: James Kirley]
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[While this seems like an interesting theory, I wonder what else is going on. Is there red tide in the area? What is the navy doing regarding sonar testing? That has caused some difficulties in the past with these incredible creatures. So if further investigation is not done first, then spending funds to investigate a cardiac problem may be akin to the "wild goose chase‚". If it were a cardiac problem why would we not see it on a more regular basis? Surely we cannot believe it happens with regularity and only on special occasions they get washed ashore.
These seem to occur in roughly 2 year increments. This does not seem to be cardiomyopathy but rather another cause, and cardiomyopathy is a result of another problem (sonar?) not the cause of the problem. - Mod.TG]
[Photos of pygmy sperm whales can be seen at <http://seapics.com/feature-subject/whales/pygmy-sperm-whale-pictures.html>.
The state of Florida can be seen on the HealthMap/ProMED-mail interactive map at <http://healthmap.org/r/12OU>. Indian River County can be located on the map at <http://www.digital-topo-maps.com/county-map/florida.shtml>. - Sr.Tech.Ed.MJ]
[see also:
2010
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Die-off, pilot whale - Ireland: (DL) 20101109.4058 Die-off, right whale - Argentina (02): (CH) 20100714.2355 Die-off, right whale - Argentina: (CH) RFI 20100630.2179
2009
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Undiagnosed whale deaths - USA: (VA, MD, CA) 20090407.1350
2008
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Undiagnosed deaths, whales - Ireland 20080502.1512
2006
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Undiagnosed deaths, whales - Mexico (Sinaloa) 20060220.0559
2003
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Whale die-off, domoic acid - USA (East Coast): susp. 20031028.2684 Toxic algae, whales - USA (MA) 20030813.2013 Toxic algae, whales - USA (Maine) 20030804.1911 2000
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Whale stranding - Mexico (Yucatan) (05) 20000621.1015 Whale mortality, linked to sonar tests? - Bahamas 20000620.1001 Whale stranding - Mexico (Yucatan) (04) 20000615.0970 Whale stranding - Mexico (Yucatan) 20000605.0898 Undiagnosed whale deaths - USA (Northwest) 20000423.0598 Undiagnosed deaths, pigmy whales - USA (Florida) (03) 20000411.0515
1998
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Sperm whales beached, explanation - UK 19980512.0934] .................................................sb/tg/mj/mpp/ll
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