2nd April
Hi all,
My thanks to Nicki Fern ( Exmouth BDMLR Medic ) who has passed me
this website address : click
here
Take a look .... click on the picture of the jumping Striped dolphin
to find a gallery of superb pics, taken by Paul Gale, of a number
of species.
Cheers,
Tony.
Exmouth BDMLR Co-ordinator & News/Info Service.
6th
April
Hi all,
Here's some news about a Harp seal rescue in the U.S.
Cheers,
Tony.
Exmouth BDMLR Co-ordinator & News/Info Service.
Seal
rescued from Sea Isle beach
3rd March, 2002.
A
young harp seal crawled out of the surf Tuesday and made her way to
the jetty and eventually to the sand on the 57th Street beach.
Officials from the Marine Mammal Stranding
Center later rescued the seal and relocated her.
Sgt. Michael Cook said police were alerted
to the seal about 8:30 a.m.
"It was very, very active,"
Cook said. "It kept heading further up the beach, trying to look
at everyone and clapping its ... flippers."
Cook said the seal was trying to come
closer to curious onlookers on the beach.
"I don't think that's the normal
attitude," he said. "Maybe it's used to being around humans."
Police cordoned off the path leading to
the beach with caution tapes. But that failed to deter spectators
from making their way to the beach.
Eleven-year-old Lauren Walsh was there
with her brother, Dan, 12, looking at the seal.
"We were at the Boardwalk when we
saw the police line and came in," Lauren Walsh said. "We
wanted to see what was going on."
Ken Hoerauf,
of Ocean City, a volunteer with the stranding center, was trying to
keep people away 
from
the animal.
( Pic : Unrelated Harp Seal )
"Initially it was behaving almost
like a puppy going up toward people and the police," Hoerauf
said. "But gradually it became listless, it started moving toward
the water."
By the time an official from the stranding
center arrived at the scene it was about 11:30 a.m.
The seal was lying on her belly, occasionally
rearing her head and looking up. She was scooped into a net, loaded
into a box and taken off to an undisclosed destination.
"She was fine," said Sheila
Dean, co-director of the center. "We just needed to get her off
the beach, because there were too many people there and we couldn't
get anyone to sit with her, so we decided to put her in a remote area."
Dean said the seal was healthy and probably
about a year old.
"She was just trying to rest, and
unfortunately people don't understand and wouldn't leave her alone,"
Dean said.
( Source : www.pressofatlanticcity.com )
7th
April
Hi all,
My thanks to Catherine Goulding, BDMLR North West Co-ordinator, for
this news item concerning the rescue of a Grey seal.
Cheers,
Tony.
Exmouth BDMLR Co-ordinator & News/Info Service.
7th
April, 2002
Horwich BSAC
were up in St Abbs, on the east coast of Scotland for a weekend of
diving (weather 
permitting!)
When we arrived at the shore dive site (Petticowick), a grey seal
pup was in the water, watching us kitting up - which was no mean feat
as we first of all had to winch all the diving gear
down a steep slope as the path had fallen away). Before we got into
the water, one of the group pointed out another seal pup on the pebbles
- which no-one had noticed before due to good camouflage. On closer
(ish!) inspection, there was a visible neck, superficial flipper lesions,
major eye discharge, and general ill health. We decided to finish
our dive, whilst the dive marshall observed the pup from a distance
and kept other people away.
On resurfacing,
the seal pup had not moved an inch, was showing signs of distress,
lying slumped on its front, in full sun, with the tide coming in.
After consulting with James Barnett, it was decided we should attempt
a 'rescue'. We managed to get in touch with the SSPCA near Fife, and
was 
informed,
if we could get it there - they would take it.
( Pic : rescued Grey seal pup. Photo credit - www.sealsanctuary.co.uk
)
The problem wasn't catching the seal,
as it showed hardly any resistance. The major problem was how to get
it back up the steep slope and into the car. We emptied a diving crate
large enough to fit the seal in. It was difficult enough to get up
the slope, let alone with a large diving crate full of biting seal
pup!! Luckily, one of our diving team was a 6'4 fireman with big muscles
who (somehow) managed to walk up the slope with the seal in a crate,
without being bitten (the seals head was covered with a towel at all
times, and Ian was wearing thick diving gloves - just in case!).
Once up the slope,
the seal pup was placed into the back of a large people carrier, and
whisked off to Fife. The windows were open at all times, to ensure
good ventilation, and the pup was intermittently sprayed with water
to prevent overheating.
We arrived at the SSPCA seal treatment
unit some 85 minutes later, with Abbie (as we found it at St Abbs).
She was obviously stressed after being put into their pens, so was
left in a quiet area whilst she calmed down.
I will check up on Abbie's progress in
a day or so and let you know how it is doing.
With grateful thanks to Firefighter Ian,
Marine Mammal Medic Mandy, Chauffeur Paul, and the rest of Horwich
BSAC for carrying all our gear back up the steep slope afterwards
- and of course to Abbie - my first proper seal rescue! ... and we
got it all on video.
Catherine
Goulding - BDMLR North West.
Horwich Subaqua
Club : click
here
8th
April
Hi all,
Here's an interesting story for the U.S.
What would we do ?
Cheers,
Tony.
Exmouth BDMLR Co-ordinator & News/Info Service.
Baby
whale rescue program proposed
7th April, 2002
Scientists off Maui watched an apparently healthy humpback whale calf
starve to death last month after being separated from its mother.
The unweaned calf desperately tried for
two weeks to bond with two other whales, and on its last day alive
nestled under a whale research boat. It appeared to try to suckle
on the boat in a final tragic gesture as a large tiger shark waited
in the distance.
"It was just wrenching," said
whale researcher Louis Herman.
The next day, the calf, which had grown
thinner and weaker, was gone.
So was the shark.
"An abandoned
calf is unfortunately a dead calf," said Adam Pack, who works
with Herman at the Kewalo Basin Marine Mammal Laboratory.
( Pic : unrelated cow & calf )
The two have informally proposed to federal
authorities that the state develop a system for adopting calves separated
from their mothers, raising them in coastal pens and releasing them
when the next year's humpback migration heads for Alaskan feeding
grounds.
Sea World in California did that with
gray whales, with some success, but it has never been attempted with
a humpback, apart from a calf that died at Sea Life Park a week after
it was stranded at Punalu'u more than two decades ago.
Other researchers say it is a difficult
proposition that promises to be costly. Sea World reported the expense
of maintaining a gray whale calf for 200 days was nearly $1 million.
"To my knowledge, no one's ever successfully
rehabilitated a humpback calf. It was attempted on one occasion unsuccessfully,"
said Margaret Akamine Dupree, protected species program coordinator
at the National Marine Fisheries Service.
Marine mammal researcher Paul Nachtigall
said it would be an enormous undertaking for any organization, particularly
a small research lab in Hawai'i.
"It's a very positive humanitarian
thing, but the question becomes, how many can you do it for, and can
you even do it?" said Nachtigall, head of the marine mammal research
program at the University of Hawai'i's Hawai'i Institute for Marine
Biology.
( There is further text on this item at
: click
here )
8th
April, 2002
Jersey - Dolphin Stranding
Report from the Jersey Society for the
Protection & Care of Animals (JSPCA)
A live juvenile dolphin was found at West Park (South Jersey) yesterday
morning (7th April) at 7.30am by La Frigate Cafe. Local Channel Islands
vet Hugh Forshaw examined the animal on the beach and found that it
had blood coming out of its mouth and blow hole. The dolphin's pupils
were of unequal size and it was exhibiting symptoms of vesticular
disease. It was also malnourished.
Hugh attempted to re-float the dolphin
but it was too ill to remain upright and was in danger of drowning.
After the clinical assessment, it was decided that the most humane
course of action was to put it to sleep.
The dolphin was brought to JSPCA for
this purpose.
(
JSPCA - click here
)
9th
April
Hello,
Just thought I'd let everyone know that Randy the Dolphin, from Guernsey,
has now moved into Weymouth.
I was away, diving with my club, when he approached 2 of our divers,
underwater, he began to play with their fins and other dangly bits!
He then moved off to play with a group of divers in 1.5m of water.
He played there for around 2 hours, leaping out of the water and copying
the divers antics (although much more gracefully). He seemed to very
much enjoy having his belly rubbed, and would roll over to make this
easier for his flunkies, all of whom obliged. He was greatly attracted
to hose divers who had face masks on and joined him under water. Also,
he was attracted to people who splashed a lot.
Randy appeared to be fat and healthy. Lets hope he stays that way,
where ever he sees fit to grace. If you see a large Bottle-nosed dolphin
with a nick in the leading edge of his dorsal fin let us know. Lets
see if we can track him around the coast.
Not bad for the first dive of the year, eh?
Mark Stevens
Director - British Divers Marine Life Rescue
9th
April, 2002
Injured baby dolphin fights for its life
(
Pic : Joel Darling (left) and Steve Lakes of the marine stranding
network keep an eye on the small bottlenose dolphin
that is at the Texas State Aquarium recovering from a probable shark
attack. Credit : George Gongora )
A seriously injured baby dolphin is under
watchful eyes at the Texas State Aquarium after it washed up on the
beach 30 miles from the Padre Island National Seashore.
Officials suspect, judging by the deep
gashes and bite marks covering its body, that a shark attacked the
140-pound bottlenose dolphin. Seashore rangers found the weakened
2-year-old dolphin Sunday afternoon, stuck in the sand, dehydrated
and with chunks of flesh exposed.
Aquarium officials do not know how long
the dolphin was beached.
"The good news is it looks like it
didn't pierce through the blubber," said Debbie Prevratil, the
aquarium's marine mammal curator, explaining that the blubber is a
layer that protects the dolphin's internal organs. The bad news is
that the dolphin's health may have worsened when several residents
innocently tried to push it back into the water early Sunday, said
Linda Price-May, Texas Marine Mammal Stranding Network regional coordinator.
"If they're on the beach, there's
something wrong," she said.
Instead, residents should dig out the
sand around the dolphin and call for help.
"Most importantly, they need to keep
the animal wet by splashing water or something," she said. "Hold
down the noise and keep disruptive people away, and hopefully by then,
we'll be there."
National Seashore rangers called the stranding
network for help. Volunteers used a stretcher to move the dolphin
to a 7,000-gallon pool where they irrigated its wounds with sterile
saline and disinfected the lacerations with an antibiotic scrub, she
said.
The dolphin was then given special fluids
through a stomach tube to offset the dehydration and started on antibiotics
to fight infections.
"We were very lucky he responded
so well to the supportive treatment," she said.
Aquarium officials want the public's help
in supplying more than 10,000 pounds of salt to prepare a larger tank
for the dolphin's recovery. It can be any form as long as it arrives
in 50-pound bags or larger, Prevratil said.
Officials were unsure if the dolphin would
survive but they were cautiously optimistic. In the best case scenario,
the dolphin could be released in three to four weeks, Price-May said.
"That's always the ultimate goal
for all of us - to make this animal better and let him go," she
said.
( Source : www1.caller.com )
17th
April
Hi all,
Following the recent article from Mark Stevens ( BDMLR Director )
please find below a response from James Barnett ( BDMLR Veterinary
Director ) concerning this dolphin.
It is interesting that BDMLR are involved with the welfare of this
animal and also those members of the public trying swim with it.
Thanks to James for the item.
Cheers,
Tony.
Exmouth BDMLR Co-ordinator & News/Info Service.
16th
April, 2002
Following
on from Mark Stevens' message re. the lone dolphin at Portland, Dorset,
'Randy/Georges', I was asked by Andy Williams of Biscay bay Dolphin
Project and Cathy Owen of Durlston Marine Park to go and see him on
Saturday, due to some concerns over the condition of his skin. I was
actually more concerned about his body condition, which I felt was
not ideal, being at best fair. I need to talk to people with more
knowledge of the seasonal fluctuations in the nutritive status of
Bottlenose dolphins, but it would be expected that in the spring,
before the sea temperature starts to really rise, that blubber thickness
should be good. I wasn't convinced this was necessarily the case with
this animal. I am wondering if he is spending too much time messing
about with people and boats, when he should perhaps be resting up
or foraging.
He has numerous relatively superficial scars over his body, plus a
large wound in his dorsal (over an inch deep), which is healing well.
His behaviour around the prop of our boat was bizarre: it was as if
he was trying to feel the sensation of the turbulence over his skin.
I am concerned that one day he is going to come a 'cropper' and get
a really serious injury.
He is also a little too friendly with the public and in the site he
is in now, which is quite dangerous in terms of undertow, the public
are really putting themselves at risk by entering the water with him,
not to mention hypothermia, zoonotic disease,tail slaps and butting.
I had discussions with Cathy and Andy about suitable control measures
and they are going to take these up with the local council. From here
on in, Southern Marine Life Rescue's vets are going to take up the
monitoring, as the animal is presently in their stretch of coastline.
James Barnett
BDMLR Veterinary Director
22nd
April
Hi all,
Below is an item written by Bob Archel, Director of 'Divemaster' and
BDMLR's Insurer !
Cheers,
Tony.
Exmouth BDMLR Co-ordinator & News/Info Service.
Medic’s
Diary.
BDMLR’s Insurers receives Seal of Approval.
I had been involved in insuring the public
liability of BDMLR’s activities for several years before becoming
a Marine Mammal Medic on one of their first courses. After attending
a recent Medic refresher course I was asked if I would like to assist
at a seal release at Hunstanton. I jumped at the chance and so did
my daughter Faye who is also a Medic and also helps teach the BDMLR
course. Because our company Dive Master Insurance sponsors the BDMLR
we were allowed to invite a guest. I invited my co-director and Chairman
of our company Neil to come along. Neil who is also a Lloyds Underwriter
is booked to do the Medic course this April.
The 16th March was the day that “Mischief” the seal was
going to be released back to the seal colonies in the Wash. For the
past year Mischief the seal pup and other underweight pups had been
looked after and brought back to weight and fitness by the staff at
Hunstanton Sealife Centre. Today was going to be their big day - BDMLR
was organising their release. It was also my big day as it was my
first seal release as a Medic!
The three of us called at the Hunstanton Sealife Centre where the
seals that were to be released were being prepared for the trip. However,
the day didn’t start well for Mischief even though he wasn’t
called Mischief until later in the day when he wriggled his head out
of his restraint on the boat and bit Faye’s knee! The staff
at the Sealife Centre were attempting to separate the seals for release
from the ones going to stay at the centre, but Mischief decided to
seek refuge in the sump end of the almost drained seal pool! With
at least two other seals sitting on top of him only his flippers and
the end of his nose could be seen sticking out of the sump. The process
of separating the seals and putting them into their restraints made
from stout poles with canvas webbing straps, looked chaotic when really
it was a well-drilled exercise.
The Centre’s two resident seals obediently jumped into their
cages, and even appeared relieved to be in them probably having witnessed
the spectacle about to unfold many times before. But Citronella, one
of the resident cormorants at the Centre, seemed hysterical with excitement
and flapped and skidded around the drained pool with her gang of two
other cormorants squawking and pecking at any unfortunate seal that
lumbered into her way. Harsh words from her keeper Kieran sent her
and her gang squawking away. The Sealife team however were unflappable,
and protected by only small pieces of fiberboard they expertly ushered
the seals now protesting loudly and bearing rows of very sharp teeth,
into positions where they could be scooped up in to their restraining
litters.
The first part of the job done, now it was our turn to receive the
seals into the two BDMLR Ambulance RIBs “Amanda” and “Naomi”
and to convey the seals back to where they belonged, the sandbanks
of The Wash. We kitted up into our dry suits and warm top coats in
the car park that had suddenly become alive with activity. There were
going to be four boats taking part in the release. Two BDMLR Ambulance
RIBs and two support boats. All four boats were quickly rigged and
launched and the crews waded out to stand by to receive the seals.
Now time and tide wait for no man, or seal! And by the time we received
the seals into the boats and had made the pre-voyage radio call to
the coastguard, the tide was running out fast! It’s a fact that
planing RIBs draw less water than RIBs moving slowly, so all the boats
gunned their engines and headed for the open water. Normally the shortest
distance from one point to another is a straight line, unfortunately
for us that rule wasn’t going to hold up today! All four boats
went aground almost simultaneously on the shortest course to deep
water. The crews got out of the boats and started pushing them in
to what we hoped was deeper water but the sand bars and the gullies
that run between them can be difficult to judge this close to shore.
We ended up with two boats high and dry and a support boat with one
seal aboard aground in shallow water. Only “Amanda” had
made it out to deep water.
We now had a
dilemma, only two of the four seals were in “Amanda”!
Aboard our boat “Naomi” the recently named Mischief the
seal was starting to steam in the warm sunshine, so we busied ourselves
collecting the now fast receding seawater to keep poor Mischief cool.
The seal in the support boat was in a better situation; they at least
had access to shallow water to keep their seal cool. Mere mortals
at this point may have started to panic and blame each other for the
predicament that we now found ourselves in, but the two senior Medic’s
Geoff Hammock and James Brett concentrated on the job in hand and
made radio contact and hatched a plan.
“Amanda” would motor back at low speed and come as close
to our position as possible and we would carry Mischief out to the
boat to join the other two seals for release. The fourth seal in the
support boat could at least be kept cool until the boat lifted off
the sand on the afternoon tide, as it was aground but still in shallow
water it should be the first boat to float off.
Our crew comprised Neil, Geoff, Chris, Faye and me. It was decided
that Geoff and Chris would stay with “Naomi” so that they
could look after the boat but follow us as soon as “Naomi”
lifted off the sands on the afternoon tide. So Neil and I hoisted
little Mischief up on to our shoulders and Faye brought up the rear
with our two kit bags. We started to walk across the sands toward
the speck in the distance that was “Amanda”. I estimated
that it was about half a mile but “Amanda” was cutting
that distance down by creeping through the still receding creeks toward
us.
It was relatively easy to carry the seal across the sand and no problem
either in the ankle deep water as we met the low water mark. However
when the water got up to our knees it suddenly became like trying
to walk through treacle! The last one hundred and fifty yards to the
boat was the most exhausting and we had to rest. We put Mischief down
for a while keeping his nose above water and he seemed to enjoy the
brief cooling off, so did we! Only one more effort and we had him
on board the boat with the other two seals. Faye joined us in the
boat complaining that two kit bags were probably heavier and more
difficult to carry through “treacle” than half a seal,
and she 
was
probably right!
( Pic : Mischief
joins “Amanda” Faye still following up with vital supplies!
)
The three seals
seemed to settle down now they were altogether in the boat as James
Brett the skipper crept “Amanda” back out to deeper water.
The tide was still going out and despite touching the ground a couple
more times we eventually hit open and deep water. James pushed the
throttle forward and the engine roared into life. Amanda started to
plane on the flat calm waters of The Wash. James was attentive to
the GPS that guided us around the now exposed sand banks but it took
us about forty minutes to reach the release site.
Now we were running between high sandbanks
on a silvery flat surface. Ahead of us we saw little black dots on
the surface of the sandbanks, they were the seals hauled out and sunning
themselves in the now watery spring sunshine. About quarter of a mile
away James pulled the throttle back and the engine noise dropped down
to an idle. He had brought “Amanda” in down wind of the
seal colony where they remained unperturbed by our activities.
We beached the RIB and through binoculars I could see that some of
the larger seals on the edges of the group were watching us. One or
two of them decided to escape our intrusion and enter the 
water,
only to reappear not far from our boat, bobbing about staring intently
at what we were doing. We were now being observed!
( Pic : James
demonstrates how to release the seals )
Almost ceremonially we carried our seals up
on to the sandbank and laid the litters still securely tied together
in a row while we made the final preparations for their release. We
pointed them toward the water and James instructed us in undoing the
ties holding the litters together and reminded us that seals can turn
quickly and they can bite. One by one we undid the ties holding the
nets together and stepped away from them. The seals remained there
momentarily looking at each other and then looked at us, then one
by one they started to move off to the safety of the water.
The larger seals
from the colony that were bobbing about watching us from the water
now became alert staring intently at the manoeuvres of our released
seals. Our seals at this point didn’t seem to want to leave
the vicinity of the boat. They were like children let loose in a huge
park but not knowing which way to run first. They swam around the
boat, and under the boat as if investigating what sort of “creature”
it was that had brought them home. Then cautiously they started to
move away from us toward the main seal group that was still hauled
out on the sands. They moved in little crescent shaped moves down
the low water line, not moving too far away from the shore and not
making
bold movements toward the main group of seals. Perhaps even in seal
circles there is etiquette in introducing yourself!
( Pic : Mischief (front and Centre) and his
mates make their escape! )
We watched them until suddenly the large seals
guarding the main group started throwing their heads back and making
loud barking noises. Eventually the barking stopped. It looked to
us that our little seals had returned home and were no longer “our
seals”.
Some of our crew walked across the sand and made radio contact with
the support boat that had the fourth seal onboard. Apparently they
had managed to manoeuvre their boat out of the shallows and into a
water filled gully and crept out of Hunstanton shortly after we left.
They had successfully released their seal on the other side of the
same sandbank that we were on. We had some lunch and then motored
around the sandbank and found the support boat and rafted up with
them for a while. We then watched the seal colony take to the water
and swim out to investigate our boats that were just drifting along.
At one point we were surrounded by dozens of seals all looking at
us!
After a while we decided to head back and James called up the appropriate
screen for the return to Hunstanton on the GPS and we set off. During
the return we met up with Geoff onboard “Naomi” and the
other support boat that had been stranded and told them what they
had missed. Needless to say with four RIBs all with powerful outboards
we had some “fun” zapping over each other’s wakes
on the way back! It had been a great day!
Having
Fun on the way back!
Back at Hunstanton we helped put the boats
back on their road trailers and stowed the gear away. Finished we
said our goodbyes and started the trip back home in the comfort of
a warm car. But I still thought about the seals that we had released
and the events of the day.
The lesson that I had learned was that things don’t always go
to plan, especially when you are dealing with nature and wild animals.
However what is important, is that BDMLR Medics should be resourceful
and adaptable people, able to work out solutions with the people and
resources available to them for whatever problem may occur, and those
qualities were admirably demonstrated by Geoff and James on the day
of the release.
Despite the difficult start to the day, the
fact that at one time Mischief the seal had both the Chairman and
Managing Director of Dive Master Insurance carrying him out to “Amanda”
and then released without apparently being worst for the experience,
seemed reason enough to claim, “BDMLR Insurers receive Seal
of Approval!”
Bob Archell.
Marine Mammal Medic
( Pictures by Lucie White and Gavin Parsons BDMLR. )
26th
April
Hi all,
Just a quickie ... thanks to Kevin Robinson at the CRRU for this item.
I don't normally send out items concerning conservation/political
matters but this one needs 'airing'.
Cheers,
Tony.
Exmouth BDMLR Co-ordinator & News/Info Service.
Scientists
given permission to shoot dolphins
25th April 2002
Norwegian researchers have been given the go-ahead
to shoot up to 60 dolphins. They hope to find out more about the diet
of the Atlantic white-sided and white-beaked species. Conservationists
prevented a similar experiment last year and say they will try to
stop it again. They believe the research will be used to blame dolphins
for falling fish stocks. The researchers say they just want to find
out how many pollutants the animals are exposed to and secure their
future.
The research could begin later this year and
is expected to take up to three years to complete. Asmund Bjordal,
a research director at the Institute for Marine Research which will
carry out the study, told Ananova government permission may have been
rejected before for political reasons. He said: "Permission has
now been granted but I am not sure whether it will go ahead this year
- it depends on the resources we have."
Sue Fisher, of the Whale and Dolphin Conservation
Society, believes the research is just an excuse: "It is not
acceptable. These kills will be horrible and cruel. It is a cover
for securing some dolphin meat for fishermen and the ridiculous claim
that dolphins are out competing humans for fish."
Mr Bjordal denied this, but when asked if the
fall in fish stocks was due to over-fishing, said: "It is a combination
of climate change, predation by sea mammals, fish-on-fish predation
and of course over-fishing."
( source : www.ananova.com
)
