Whale dies from eating more than 80 plastic bags

Pilot whale was found barely alive in Thai canal and vomited up five bags during fruitless rescue attempts

Agence France-Presse

Sun 3 Jun 2018 02.44 BSTLast modified on Mon 4 Jun 2018 11.50 BST

A whale has died in southern Thailand after swallowing more than 80 plastic bags, with rescuers failing to nurse the mammal back to health.

The small male pilot whale was found barely alive in a canal near the border with Malaysia, the country’s department of marine and coastal resources said.

A veterinary team tried “to help stabilise its illness but finally the whale died” on Friday afternoon.

An autopsy revealed 80 plastic bags weighing up to 8kg (18lb) in the creature’s stomach, the department added.

People used buoys to keep the whale afloat after it was first spotted on Monday and an umbrella to shield it from the sun.

The whale vomited up five bags during the rescue attempt.

Thon Thamrongnawasawat, a marine biologist and lecturer at Kasetsart University, said the bags had made it impossible for the whale to eat any nutritional food.

Continued  

Bubbles, the oldest pilot whale in captivity, dies at SeaWorld

Bubbles was in her early 50s and had lived at the park in San Diego for nearly 30 years

Staff and agencies

Sunday 12 June 201601.36 BST Last modified on Monday 13 June 201610.10 BST

Bubbles, a female pilot whale at SeaWorld in San Diego that was believed to have been the oldest animal of her species in a zoological park, has died.

In an online statement, SeaWorld Entertainment Inc said Bubbles was in her early to mid 50s and had been at the park for nearly 30 years.

 “SeaWorld San Diego is saddened to announce the passing of one of the world’s most beloved animals, Bubbles the pilot whale,” the company said on its website.

A necropsy was planned to determine the cause of death. The company, which operates marine parks in San Diego, San Antonio, Texas, and Orlando, Florida, did not say when she died.

Pilots whales, which have rounded heads and mouthlines that curve upward to resemble a smile, are part of the dolphin family and are smaller than orcas, or killer whales.

Pilots, which live in pods of 20 or 90 animals, are about as intelligent as dolphins and easily trained, according to the American Cetacean Society.

Weighing roughly 3,000 pounds (1,360kg) and measuring 15 feet (5m) long, Bubbles was considered the “grande dame” of SeaWorld. She was known for her ability to jump out of the water and spin at great speed.

SeaWorld has faced intense public scrutiny over its public display of marine animals, especially killer whales, following the highly-critical documentary Blackfish.

In March, the company said it would stop breeding killer whales in captivity, but would still put on performances with orcas at its three parks.

The death of Bubbles reignited anger on social media over the practice of keeping whales and other marine animals in captivity.

Read more … 

Dolphins suspected in whale attack off Skye

30 October 2015

Marine wildlife experts believe dolphins attacked a young pilot whale which was found stranded on a beach in Skye.

Vets had to put down the badly injured three-year-old female calf, which was discovered on Tuesday at Dunvegan.

Teeth marks were found on the whale's body, flippers and dorsal fin.

The Scottish Marine Animals Stranding Scheme and Hebridean Whale and Dolphin Trust (HWDT) suspect the calf was attacked by bottlenose dolphins.

HWDT said it was awaiting a final report following a post-mortem examination of the whale.

Dr Conor Ryan, the trust's sightings and strandings officer, said: "If indeed bottlenose dolphins were to blame, this is only the second such case that we are aware of in the UK.

"Pilot whales often strand dead and occasionally alive on our coasts, but rarely with these types of injuries."

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Second whale stranded in Firth of Forth is put down

A minke whale has been put down by vets after it became stranded in the Firth of Forth just days after the death of a pilot whale in the area.

The 4m long juvenile whale became stuck near the shore at Crombie point in Fife at 07:40.

The animal was in distress "lifting its tail and tremoring". Firefighters had been pouring water over the whale to keep its skin from cracking.

Experts said it was a "long way from the sea".

Medics from the British Divers Marine Life Rescue kept the mammal sedated but with high tide not due until mid afternoon a decision was taken to euthanise the whale because refloating was not possible.

On Tuesday, a pilot whale was stranded north of Edinburgh but later died.

A team from the British Divers Marine Life Rescue had spent the day in the shallows off Silverknowes trying to save the animal.

Read on

Pilot whale strands in Falmouth

Long-finned pilot whale on a beach near Falmouth. Courtesy of British Divers Marine Life Rescue

Whale too ill to survive

April 2013. At 11am on 15th April, British Divers Marine Life Rescue (BDMLR) received a call from the Cornwall Coastguard telling alerting them that a dolphin had stranded on the beach at Falmouth. They scrambled their marine mammal medics they arrived on the scene within half an hour to discover that the dolphin was actually a Long-finned Pilot whale.

The medics immediately started to administer first aid to the whale, and to protect the whale from the sun (which dries out and cracks its skin) the medics placed towels drenched in water over the whale.

BDMLR maintain a whale rescue trailer which arrived shortly after towed by BDMLR director Dave Jarvis. The whale was 4.1 metres long and probably a juvenile. The whale was also solitary which was unusual as they live in large pods - This was a worry to the rescue team as Long-finned pilot whales are known to strand en masse - As happened in Scotland last September - But as yet there is no sign of any more whales in the area.

Poor condition
On assessment the body condition was found to be poor and a decision was taken to euthanize the whale. BDMLR main aim is to prevent suffering and to return a whale to the sea that is not in a condition to survive would simply increase the suffering of the whale.

COURTESY OF BRITISH DIVERS MARINE LIFE RESCUE.

Dave Jarvis said "It's always a hard decision to end a life but in this case I feel it was justified."

A full post mortem will be carried out on the whale to determine the reason it came ashore.

Long-finned pilot whales

Long-finned pilot whales occur in the North Atlantic and across the southern hemisphere at lower latitudes. Adults can grow up to 7 metres long and can weigh up to 3 tonnes.

http://www.wildlifeextra.com/go/news/pilot-falmouth.html