26th November
Hi
all,
Here's the latest
news bulletin from the BDMLR News.
Once again, thanks
to those who have contributed or have forwarded details of stories
to me.
Cheers,
Tony
Woodley
Exmouth BDMLR Rescue/Training Co-ordinator
BDMLR OnLine
BDMLR at NEC
Dive Show 2003
Dear all,
Just to let you all know the bucket collection at the Dive Show raised
a fantastic £1696.92.
This is a record by some £500!
This is brilliant and is a really big effort by all those who worked
their bums off at the show.
I'm not going to name names, they know who they are. I'm just saying
THANK YOU.
Next NEC show October 30 /31 2004. Can you all be at it ????? ...
( email me if you want/can come )
PS for your info it took Alison ( Stevens ) 5 1/2 hours non stop to
count and included ;
£558 1£ coins
£96 of £2
£177.40 of 20p
£250 of 50p
£89.50 of 10p
£34.85 of 5p
£13 of 2p
£8.17 of 1p
All counted by hand!!
Thanks Alison
Mark Stevens
Director BDMLR
East Anglia Medics
in Double Common Seal Rescue
22nd November
It was a bad morning at work as I had far too much to do and not enough
time to do it all, when I received a call from a member of the public
regarding a seal in distress at Burnham Ovary Staithe. I expected
the seal to be a young grey, abandoned or separated from its mother.
I called the RSPCA to see if they could assist but they didn't have
anyone in the area or anyone available to respond. Duane Kirk (Anglia
MMM) dropped tools and child!! and came speeding along - well, as
fast as his landy would take him!! After looking at maps of the local
area we decided that access through Burnham Ovary Staithe was going
to be a bit of a nightmare as this involved an approximate 4 mile
walk, instead we drove well past Burnham Ovary to Holkham. Access
was then gained to the beach driving past various members of the public
who started nattering to themselves when they saw the Land Rover Wildlife
Ambulance drive across the beach that they had spent ages walking
over to get back to their cars. After about 15 minutes of driving
along the beach, getting as far as we could, we had started to give
up hope of finding the pup, it had probably been about an hour from
the point of the call to our arrival on scene due to the distance
that we had to cover. After speaking to another member of the public
we had obtained another lead, and sure enough after more searching
we found a 22.5kg common seal with an extremely bad parasite burden.
The pup was checked over and then tubed on the beach using the gear
always available in the wildlife ambulance. He was then put into the
vari-kennel and we started to make our return journey. Unfortunately
we didn't get very far as we found another common pup also in distress.
This one again was suffering from a extreme parasite burden and only
weighed 12.5kg. At 6 months old, this is an extremely small weight
and right from the start we realised how difficult this animal was
going to be to get back up to health. This animal was also tubed and
checked over and then placed into the vari-kennel.
This rescue was an extremely difficult one, not only did we have two
animals, when we only expected one, (full credit to Duane for carrying
double the kit, without this we would have been using the same gear
for both animals) but both the animals had completely different temperatures
- one was too hot and the other was extremely cold. Both were transported
back to the Hunstanton Sea Life Sanctuary were their treatment continued.
Ned, the larger of the two perked up extremely quickly after being
given fluid therapy and wormer. The other pup unfortunately did not
do as well
and unfortunately died despite desperate attempts to keep it with
us. We completed the PM almost immediately after death and we found
that we really didn't stand a chance. Worms were everywhere, throughout
the lungs, heart, guts and anywhere else you want to think of. It
was very apparent that only a few square inches of one lung were actually
working for this animal.
I would like to thank Duane Kirk for his commitment to BDMLR and for
his readiness to drop everything and help. Without Duane I would not
have been able to get both of these animals - I would not be able
to carry both these animals back the 4 mile trek to where I would
have had to have parked, Duane and his land rover gave us a great
advantage, if alone, I would have had to have picked one - Put yourself
in that place - what would you do????
After many moons of working with BDMLR throughout the Phocine Distemper
Virus I have found myself in this position before, having to pick
what animal to take back and treat to give it that small chance of
survival. It is a very difficult decision to make and I am glad it
is one I did not have to do to again. Full credit to all who worked
so hard throughout PDV especially all of the boat drivers and crew
who spent many a weekend out in the wash observing and when necessary
catching the animals for treatment.
Regards,
Kieran Copeland
Anglian Co-ordinator,
British Divers Marine Life Rescue.
Lonely baby beluga
in Bay of Fundy befriends divers, fishermen - Canada
26th November
He's no Moby Dick, but a lonely baby beluga lost in the Bay of Fundy
is garnering almost as much attention as he searches for companionship
in the waters off the New Brunswick coast.
The small white whale, known as Poco,
is raising concerns among whale watchers because of his attempts to
befriend commercial divers and lobster fishermen working the bay,
which is unfamiliar territory for belugas.
Cathy Kinsman of the Whale Stewardship
Project, a non-profit research and protection group, said Wednesday
there are fears the charming little whale could be harmed as he hangs
around the aquaculture pens and lobster boats, a ghostly figure who
often startles people when he approaches them.
"The beluga takes them totally by
surprise," Kinsman said. "One fellow told me he almost swallowed
his (diving) regulator."
She said Poco follows divers around once
he finds them, peering into their face masks and rolling in the air
bubbles rising from their gear.
Kinsman said the divers and fishermen
are not looking for the whale or going out of their way to pet him.
Poco, she said, is seeking out their company.
"He's so curious and interested in
everything and anything going on," she said.
A beluga is an extremely rare sight in
the Bay of Fundy.
Kinsman said she suspects Poco is from
the beluga population in the St. Lawrence River, although it is possible
he swam down from Arctic waters.
The whale, last seen just a couple of
days ago, has been in the bay since September. Kinsman said he is
believed to be two or three years old and measures two to three metres
in length.
The Whale Stewardship Project specifically
targets lost belugas, who are showing up with increasing frequency
in the waters off Atlantic Canada.
"There are more around than we anticipated
when we started the program," Kinsman said. "We have our
hands full with these lone beluga whales who are somehow becoming
separated from their family groups and straying into areas of Atlantic
Canada where they are not normally found."
Kinsman said all of the whales tracked
by the program have eventually disappeared. She does not know what
happens to them.
"Some have proven they can survive
from year to year," she said. "Conceivably, this little
guy could hang around for a while."
Kinsman said she realizes Poco's story
is sad and she expects it will strike a chord with people.
She said belugas are intensely social
animals with strong family bonds. Poco must feel the loss of his pod.
"These whales in these situations
where they are alone, people can get very emotional about it,"
Kinsman said.
"I'm glad for that sense of compassion.
We're trying to balance the compassion we have for the animal with
what's best for him as an individual."
Kinsman said any decision to try moving
Poco, possibly relocating him to the St. Lawrence River, would have
to be made by the federal Fisheries Department.
She said the idea has been discussed,
although it has been ruled out for now.
"At this
point, because he seems to be doing OK and travelling around, there
are no plans to move him."Kinsman
said capturing and moving a whale is very stressful for the animal.
"You can't just pick him up and drive
him up the road."
Nevertheless, Kinsman said there are real
dangers for Poco in the bay. Because of his interest in the aquaculture
pens and lobster traps, there are fears he could get caught in lines
and fishing gear.
"We're also worried about injury
by boats. Belugas will approach boats closely and there's a serious
risk of injury from propellers."
Kinsman said moving Poco will remain an
option as fisheries officials, whale watchers and a growing group
of friends and concerned citizens keep an eye on the little whale.
"You have
to keep everything open as an option in the interests and health of
this whale."
( source : www.canadaeast.com )
Gentle beasts
of the sea breathe their last - Tasmania
26th November
Wildlife scientists are trying to work out why 130 whales and dolphins
stranded themselves in Tasmania's south-western wilderness.
The 110 long-finned pilot whales and 20 bottlenose dolphins lay scattered
on rocks and sand or washing among kelp yesterday at remote Hibbs
Bay, 50 kilometres south of Strahan.
They ran ashore up to 10 days ago, but
were only reported by a passing abalone diver late on Monday.
All
were dead yesterday, their black bodies bleached by the sun, when
the state's nature conservation branch team flew in.
"They were of all ages," a branch
team member, Dr Rosemary Gales, said from the site. "It was very
sad to see such an array, particularly of young calves and pregnant
females.
"It really drives home how important
it is to find out early about a stranding."
The animals died
in one of the Tasmanian coast's natural whale traps. Like many other
stranding sites on the island, Hibbs Bay opens to the north and narrows
into a tight corner at its southern base.
A zoologist at
Tasmanian Museum, David Pemberton, said the deaths of two species
at one stranding was very unusual, and indicated 
an
external factor was to blame, rather than a single species being led
ashore by a sick member.
Dr Pemberton said they could have been
jointly chasing abundant prey when they became disoriented, or larger
predators like killer whales might have harassed them and pushed them
into the corner.
A whale specialist,
Dr Nick Gales, of the Australian Antarctic Division, described the
phases of a stranding.
"They get gradually more distressed,
bunch up together and mill about, and then one or more of them will
make a move and hit the shore.
"The distress from these animals
calls other highly stressed whales in, and they strand too. If you're
there at the time you can encourage them to swim out, and there has
been some success with that. But you need to be there."
As it was, the scientists were only able
to collect samples such as plugs of blubber to check for contaminants
like PCBs, tissue for genetic studies and teeth to check ages.
The abundant pilot whales, which grow
to four metres and move in close family groups, usually roam in the
open ocean.
However, it is the species that most commonly
dies on Tasmania's coast.
( source : www.smh.com.au
)
Video Now Available
- 03-12-03
Click
on this link ( below ) and then click on the link to the video which
you will find about a third of the way down the page on the Right
side.
Tony.
Here's the link : click
here
Stranded sperm
whale confirmed dead - China
24th November
A young sperm whale, has died after stranding
on a beach near Xiayuan Village of Dongfang City, south China's Hainan
Province, experts said Sunday.
It was the first time that a young sperm
whale has been stranded on the coast of the island province and its
death possibly had something to do with the tropical storm Nepartak,
which passed by Hainan last Tuesday, said experts with the bio-diversity
museum of the Hainan Teachers' College.
The sperm whale was found by fisherman
Lin Sizhen of Xiayuan Village on Thursday afternoon. It was very weak
and died quickly.
The male sperm whale was 3.5 meters long,
weighing over 500 kilograms.
Experts said they did not find any wounds
on the whale, but gore on its head, chest and belly.
Experts ruled out the possibility that
the whale died of illegal poaching or other attacks.
( source : www.chinaview.cn )
36 Beached Whales
Die in St. Martin - Caribbean
25th November
Thirty-six whales beached themselves on
the coast of this Caribbean island and died within hours despite the
efforts of people who tried to push some back out to sea.
The short-finned pilot whales were believed
to have beached themselves Monday night, and by noon Tuesday all were
dead.
The animals were found before dawn by
a man on his way to a dump in the French Caribbean territory, which
shares an island with Dutch St. Maarten. Residents and tourists later
gathered around the whales, which were up to 15 feet long.
People were able to push two whales back
into the water, but they returned and beached themselves again, appearing
exhausted, said Paul Ellinger, of the St. Maarten Nature Foundation.
He said it seemed the whales had become disoriented.
``What's clear is that they got off course.
What caused them to go off course? We'll have to check,'' Ellinger
said. ``It could be all kinds of reasons; the temperature of the water,
their sonar system. It could have been anything.''
Short-finned pilot whales usually swim
in pods, and when a leader goes astray the entire pod often follows,
Ellinger said.
Biologists were keeping three carcasses
to investigate.
The whales covered the beach along the
shallow Grand Cailles Bay, the mouth of which is fringed with coral
reefs. The whales bore injuries apparently sustained when they ran
aground.
French police arrived Tuesday morning
and closed off the spot as workers dug beach-side graves to bury the
remaining whales.
( source : www.guardian.co.uk )
Beached
Month-Old Whale Dies - California
20th November
A month-old whale which beached itself in Surfside died tonight en
route to Sea World following a determined attempt to save its life,
ABC7 Eyewitness News has learned.
The 20-foot-long, two-ton Fin whale was beached near Anderson Street
at the border between Surfside and Sunset Beach, according to broadcast
reports.
A beaching of this type of whale is "extremely
unusual," happening once every five-to-10 years, according to
whale expert John Haming.
Four rescuers from the Friends of the
Sea Lion Marine Mammal Center had come to the beach to help, said
Beate Litz, education director of the center. They were joined by
lifeguards and firefighters and a Los Angeles County Museum of Natural
History expert in marine mammals and cetaceans.
The whale was placed on a flatbed truck
and kept alive by having water poured on it and keeping it cool, a
local TV station reported.
After the original truck proved to be
to small, the whale was transferred to a larger truck, with spectators
breaking out in cheers when the move was completed.
The truck left for Sea World around 7
p.m., according to the station.
The whale was taken to Sea World in part
because "no other facility in Southern California that has a
tank as big as a whale," according to Peter Wallerstein, the
president of the Whale Rescue Team which has gone out on numerous
rescues, said Sea World is unique.
A necropsy is planned to be performed
on the whale's body at Sea World to determine the cause of death.
( source : www.abclocal.go.com
)
whales
could have been rescued. 
an
intestinal blockage common to the species and often seen in necropsies
of whales beached or washed ashore. Simone was less than a month
old when she was orphaned after she washed ashore with her mother
near Cape Canaveral in July 2002. Her mother had to be euthanized,
and Simone was brought to Mote, where scientists helped her survive
for 15 months. 
having an infected umbilicus. With Ross due to go his holidays,
arrangements had been made for the seal pup to be transferred to
Oban Sea Life Centre. Ross tended to the pup with fluid therapy
and medication commencing uplift, before it began its journey with
Ross from the Orkney Islands to Aberdeen via Northlink Sea Ferries.
Ross and the pup travelled overnight on the 7th ,by ferry, arriving
in Aberdeen at 8 am the following morning. From there, the journey
was made to BDMLR Montrose where medics Elaine Roft and Bob Pert
had further rehydration fluids, and clean bedding ready for the
young grey. After rehydrating the pup and administering medication,
the pup was given an hour to have a romp around the coastguard station
for some exercise and fresh air. At 10.30 am, Montrose medics Elaine
and Bob commenced on their round trip journey of some 300 miles
to Oban Sea Life Centre where the staff were awaiting the arrival
of their first grey of the season. Ross Flett liased with the medics
en-route, who had further rehydration equipment and bedding with
them, and a progress report was then passed on to staff at Oban.
The wee pup finally arrived at Oban at 14.30pm where it was left
to rest for a half hour before a full examination was carried out
prior to its first feed of multimilk. The pup, named "Anu"
by the staff at the centre settled in well, and given the length
of its journey was alert bright and active and was given the all
clear from Jamie on its arrival. Ross Flett thanks Northlink Sea
Ferries, BDMLR Montrose Medics Elaine Roft & Bob Pert, HM Coastguard
Montrose (Darryl White) & Mark Steward and his team from Oban
Sea Life Centre for all their help and organised communication which
ensured the safe and efficient relay of the pup from Orkney to Oban.
"It's
really disturbing," Mr Morrissey said. 
On Thursday 27th November 2003, Tayforth Vet Fiona Burnett who recently
completed the MMM course at Edinburgh was called to her first seal
pup. A member of the public had called the veterinary practice where
Fiona works and reported a seal pup on the beach at Kingsbarns,
Fife. Fiona made her way to the location and quickly found the pup
about 200yds from the car park. Upon inspection it was clear that
the animal was well rounded and in good health with no obvious trauma.
The decision was made to leave the pup well alone and to contact
the caller to request that they check on the pup the following day.
On Friday, Fiona received a call from the member of the public to
report that the pup was in the same place and that there was no
sign of any adult seals in the water. Fiona contacted Tayforth Coordinator
Gareth Norman and local MMM Bill Dodds who both took a trip over
to the location to check on the animal. After a search of the rocks
the pup was found, it had a few minor wounds on its fore flippers
and just behind its right eye but other than these it was in good
health. The pup was given 240ml of Lectade Plus and the wounds were
cleaned with pevidine solution. It was decided that we would have
a good look out to sea in an attempt to spot mum, out came the bino's
and within a few minutes an adult grey seal was seen just off the
shoreline. It appeared to have its nose out of the surf in an attempt
to sniff out the missing pup. Bob and Gareth lifted the pup into
a vari kennel and relocated it onto the sandy beach so that they
might be reunited. As the pup left the kennel it made straight for
the sea and into the waves, it took a bit of time until we viewed
a seal with pup hauled out onto a solitary rock. A happy ending
to what could have been an unnecessary separation.
from the head neck and shoulders but was rather thin on the hips
and sides with typical folds in the skin showing dehydration and
weight loss. Its lesions on the rear flippers were treated with
alamycin and the left eye bathed with saline solution as the upper
lid was red and inflamed with open sores. After administering zoolyte
fluids the pup was then taken to Balmeddie by Elaine and Bob where
they were met by Linda Robertson of BDMLR Fraserburgh who resumed
transportation to Lawrence Brain at New Deer. Many many thanks once
again to all medics and volunteers from both Montrose and Fraserburgh
for another successful uplift and relay.Thanks also to Ross Flett
from Orkney Seal Rescue for his enquiries and general concerns for
the pup. 
Senior
marine biologist Rosemary Gales said the group stayed with the animal
until it was about 6km off shore on Saturday night, when it swam
away on its own.