Strike
Three: Another net entangled seal rescued at Godrevy, Cornwall.
12th June
At around midday,
the National Seal Sanctuary took a call from a member of the public
about a young grey seal badly entangled in fishing net hauled out
at Mutton Cove, Godrevy. The animal had first been sighted some
three weeks previously & C- SMOG (Cornwall Seal Monitoring &
Observation Group) had been tasked with maintaining a watching brief
for it.
BDMLR West
Cornwall joint Coordinator Dave Jarvis agreed to go to the site
immediately to assess the situation and the possibility of a rescue
operation. West Cornwall BDMLR’s other joint Coordinator,
Tim Bain was advised of the situation & commenced collection
of equipment, whilst Dave and myself drove the short distance to
Godrevy.
Arriving at
the site, we observed the seal through a telescope lying amongst
rocks at the far end of Mutton Cove, and could clearly see the thick
green net caught around its neck and abdomen. Unfortunately, with
high tide at around 2:20pm, it was very likely that the seal would
take to the water once it reached it. Approximately half an hour
later, the seal duly turned and entered the water.
For the next
hour, the young seal “bottled” in the water just offshore
and remained fairly inactive. Tim Bain, Medic Gary Hawkins and Medic
Caroline Curtis (who is also a volunteer at the National Seal Sanctuary)
arrived during this time. At approximately 2pm, the seal decided
to swim back to the shore and haul out in the same place where it
was first spotted, and it was decided that only a small group would
be able to go down onto the isolated beach, so that the seal did
not detect us & go back into the water. Tim, Gary and myself
gathered rescue equipment and slowly but safely descended the path
into Mutton Cove. In the meantime, the Seal Sanctuary was advised
of the proceedings and set out for the site. Due to health &
safety considerations regarding the precipitous cliffs & minimising
numbers of people watching, it was decided that calling out other
medics was unnecessary & also so that the National Trust, who
own the site, did not complain. 
Once at the
bottom of the path, all equipment not essential to the initial capture
was stowed safely at the base of the cliff. Before descent it had
been agreed that Tim, being the most experienced seal-jumper would
take a towel and immobilise the seal first, while Gary and I would
follow up with a net from a seal stretcher. Since the far side of
Mutton Cove is much more rockier, we used the terrain to our advantage
to get a lot closer to the seal. Keeping low & down-wind, Tim
moved directly towards the seal, while Gary and I went around to
left along the current tide line to cut off the seal’s escape
if it tried to get back out to sea. Moving closer still, the seal
became aware of our presence and began to move off. Tim sprung into
action and caught the seal in the towel, shortly followed by the
seal stretcher net as well.
Securing the
seal in the net, we moved the seal into a shaded area on the main
part of the beach. We saw that not only was it caught in thick green
fishing net, but it was also entangled in monofilament net as well.
We decided to cut off the net around the abdomen, as it was loose,
but would await the arrival of the Seal Sanctuary staff before cutting
off the net from around the neck as it was tightly wrapped around
it and had cut into it. Medic Lesley Jarvis then arrived on the
site to bring refreshments, as we were now entering the fourth hour
of the operation & to assist with controlling the small group
of on-lookers that was now forming.
By this time,
the Coastguard had been requested by Dave, as they have previously
assisted in taking the seal up the cliff face, and were now en route.
Meanwhile, Medic Tamara Cooper from the Sanctuary arrived with Amanda,
who was volunteering there that day. They descended the path into
the cove with Gary, who had gone back up to help bring down some
of their equipment, including a medical kit. Once they were down,
Tamara, assisted by Gary, cut off the rest of the net from around
the seal’s neck and begun treating the wounds while I took
its temperature with a digital thermometer.
After this
had been done, Gary and Tim decided that they would go back to the
top of the cliff, taking any equipment no longer needed with them,
and to minimise the number of people around the animal to reduce
stress. During the wait for the Coastguard to arrive and set up
their equipment, Tamara instructed Amanda and I to pour some water
on the seal’s hind flippers to help stop the animal overheating.
Once the Coastguard
joined us at the bottom of the cliff, they attached the sling that
the seal had been transferred to some rope and, as with the last
seal rescued from Mutton Cove (see BDMLR News for February 14th),
the two Coastguard members carried the seal up the cliff between
them to stop the seal from being scraped on the cliff face. Tamara,
Amanda and myself climbed back up the path and met the Coastguard
at the top with the rest of the Medics. We transferred the seal
to a cage and loaded it into the Seal Sanctuary van, and it was
then taken to receive further treatment and recover at the Sanctuary.
A great effort
by all involved. Thanks to Tamara and Amanda from the National Seal
Sanctuary and BDMLR members who assisted in the rescue. Special
mention must go to Portreath Cliff Rescue Team, to whom we are again
indebted for getting the seal out of the cove.
Postscript:
We were advised by the Seal Sanctuary the following day that the
seal was doing well, but had not yet been named, because the pop
singer Tori Amos, who now lives in the area, had been invited to
“christen” it for her daughter. Unfortunately, it had
now been found to be a male, so the original suggestion of “Annette”
was out.
Medic
Dan Jarvis
British Divers
Marine Life Rescue
West Cornwall
Ps. The latest
news on this seal is : the seal has now been named 'Nettle', and
is doing fine except for being a bit lethargic and has to be force-fed.
BDMLR satellite seals story
To investigate
how well their rehabilitation of orphaned and sick young seals has
prepared the youngsters for survival back in the wild, the RSPCA
attached satellite tracking tags (with glue) to the fur of six young
seals. These were released back into the wild in February, all into
the Wash where adult seals haul out regularly.
The satellite
data from one of the rehab seals, called Nemo, has shown her "come
to rest" on a sandbank in the Kent area after trekking right
round to Beachy Head after leaving Norfolk two months ago. She has
been hanging out just off Kent for nearly two months, and her dives
are a lot shallower and less frequent than they were when she was
in Norfolk. The RSPCA therefore decided to try and look for her
as there was a chance she was becoming weak and ill. [ larger image
on website at 'News' ]
A few weeks
ago, British Divers Marine Life Rescue with RSPCA onboard set out
through the harbour entrance at Dover, beating a hasty retreat from
incoming ferries.
Putting the
latest satellite fix into the onboard GPS allowed them to plot a
course to the seal's location. Finally coming across the sandbank,
in the distance a group of over 30 seals was hauled out in the sunshine.
As the RIB got closer Alan Knight realised they were grey seals
- the wrong species. Further on there was another group of seals,
and these turned out to be common seals.
Laila Sadler
from the RSPCA said: The excitement mounted as we got closer, however
the seals were nervous and aware of our presence as we edged over
the sandbank towards them. Suddenly they all headed for the water,
splashing as they entered. And there amongst them, wearing her tag
and aerial, was Nemo! She looks smaller than the others, according
to Alan who got a good look, though she is not yet an adult so this
is not surprising. She took to the water and sat there watching
us for a while before disappearing off.
It is really
heartening to see that she is behaving just as the other seals,
and is hauling out with a group of her own species. Clearly this
is an area that the seals like. It is very interesting that, though
she was picked up on the north Norfolk Coast, she has come all the
way down to Kent to take up residence.
Laila
Sadler - RSPCA
The next two items relate to an ongoing attempt to rescue a stranded
Sperm whale on the Tasmanian coast. It appears to have some similarities
to the recent Sperm whale stranding which BDMLR attended. For the
full report of the UK stranding, click HERE.
Tony.
Rescuers attempt
to drag whale back to sea - Tasmania
17th June,
2004 (AEST)
Rescuers hope
to make another attempt to rescue a sperm whale stranded inside
Macquarie Harbour, on Tasmania's west coast, this morning.
The 14-metre
whale became stranded inside Macquarie Heads on Tuesday and a flotilla
of five boats and 20 rescuers spent yesterday trying to drag it
back out to sea.
Environment
Department spokesman Warwick Brennan says they made some progress,
moving the whale about 500 metres into slightly deeper water before
darkness fell.
"At first
light, they'll be assessing the situation and hoping to resume the
same operation as soon as possible," he said.
"Hopefully,
we might be able to see the whale move out into much deeper water."
The rescuers
say there is still a long way to go to rescue the whale.
Mr Brennan
says the rescuers are using the same technique tried for the first
time last November to rescue one of nine sperm whales washed up
on Flinders Island.
Post mortems
will be conducted today on four dead sperm whales found on nearby
Ocean Beach yesterday.
( source :
www.abc.net.au )
Only metres from safety - Tasmania
17th Jun, 2004
A DESPERATE
day-long battle to free a whale stranded on Tasmania's West Coast
came within metres of success late last night.
But as darkness
fell the rescue team had to abandon its efforts until first light
today, praying the creature would not have drifted ashore again.
"We left
the whale in deep water and swimming, and no longer stranded, which
is really fantastic," said senior marine biologist Rosemary
Gales, who was in charge of the rescue operation.
"We have
moved it about 200 metres into deeper water.
"But we
haven't been able to get it quite deep enough so it was able to
swim freely. It's breathing appears regular and okay.
"We will
keep a check on it overnight and reassess its condition in the morning."
But Ms Gales
warned: "There is a distinct possibility that it will be back
on the sand bar tomorrow."
The 14m 30-tonne
sperm whale became stranded in about 1.5m of water on Fraser Flats,
about 1km inside Macquarie Harbour near Strahan.
Ms Gales and
20 people from Parks and Wildlife, the Department of Primary Industries,
police and local fish farms were part of the team working to free
the whale.
Four other
large whales were found dead early yesterday on Ocean Beach, just
outside the harbour.
With the lessons
learned in yesterday's rescue effort, Ms Gales believed they would
be able to encourage the whale out of the harbour and to safety
at sea.
She said they
had pushed the whale very hard and it was responding very well,
considering the time it had been stranded.
"The strain
on the muscles is huge and it takes a long time to get back to full
manoeuvrability," she said.
The rescuers
adapted a 30m fishing net strung between two fish farm vessels in
an attempt to "crowd" the animal into deeper water.
Ms Gales said
the techniques were adapted from those used to successfully rescue
a sperm whale on Flinders Island last year.
"We adapted
what we had learned from Flinders Island to the conditions, and
took a lot of local knowledge, and we have learned more today.
"The whale
weighs in excess of 30 tonnes, which is a real challenge to move,
but it is going well.
"We couldn't
have done it without the assistance of all the local fishing industry.
They have been bending over backwards for us."
Ms Gales said
the team would concentrate on the live whale, before moving to take
scientific samples from the four dead ones.
They will take
genetic and pollutant samples, but she said given the treacherous
nature of the area the whales may well have beached because of a
navigational error.
The stricken
whale was first found on Tuesday by an employee returning from a
nearby fish farm. The rescue plan began yesterday.
District manager
of Parks and Wildlife Shane Breen said they needed to be careful
to avoid stressing the whale.
"We need
to avoid the whale becoming stressed and tangled in the net,"
Mr Breen said.
( source :
www.themercury.news.com.au )
Native Protest Disrupts Canada Whale Capture
16th June, 2004
VANCOUVER,
British Columbia (Reuters) - The effort to reunite a lonely orca
with its family was disrupted on Wednesday by native Indian protesters
who believe the animal is the spirit of a dead chief and do not
want it to leave.
Members of the Mowachaht-Muchalaht band used canoes to lure the
curious killer whale, nicknamed Luna, away from a boat that scientists
had hoped the animal would follow into a floating capture pen.
The canoes
got Luna to swim more than 4.5 miles away from the capture pen on
Nootka Sound on western Vancouver Island, according to reporters
monitoring the capture effort.
Luna's fascination
with boats is a reason scientists want to relocate him to the Strait
of Juan de Fuca on the U.S.- Canada border off southern Vancouver
Island, where they hope he will reunite with his family pod.
Whale experts
believe that Luna, whose official name is L98, is searching for
human companionship because there are no other killer whales in
Nootka Sound. But they fear he will get hurt in a collision with
a boat or float plane.
Luna was first
sighted in Nootka Sound near the village of Gold River, British
Columbia, in 2001, several days after the band's respected chief,
Ambrose Maquinna, died.
Killer whales,
or orcas, are the biggest members of the dolphin family and play
a major role in Indian culture on Canada's Pacific Coast. Members
of the Mowachaht-Muchalaht say they have a deep spiritual attachment
to the animal.
[
pic : Ed Thorburn, DFO supervisor in Gold River, B.C., stands next
to a net pen where Luna, a four-year-old Orca, may be captured today.
Luna, the frighteningly friendly orca who has taken up residence
in this coastal community's harbour, seemed mischievously unaware
of his upcoming eviction. ]
Nootka Sound,
which is about 160 miles west of Vancouver, is in the Mowachaht-Muchalaht's
historic territory, and they have objected to the relocation plan
since it was first proposed by Canadian and U.S. scientists last
year
Orcas normally
spend their entire lives with other members of their pod. Scientists
do not know if Luna became lost or was kicked out of the family
unit that summers in waters along the U.S.-Canada border.
The relocation
plan calls for Luna to be captured, tested for medical problems,
and then trucked about 215 miles to Pedder Bay on the southern tip
of Vancouver Island where it is hoped he will reunite with other
members of L pod.
Scientists
organizing the project admit that, because they do not know why
Luna became separated, they do not know if the pod will accept him
back. However, they insist the dangers of him of staying at his
current location outweigh the risks of moving him.
( source :
www.reuters.co.uk )
Philippine
navy commandoes rescue beached dolphin
16th June,
2004
Elite military
commandoes rescued a dolphin that beached itself in this southern
Philippine city, possibly due to wounds, spokesmen said Wednesday.
The eight-foot
(2.4-meter) animal, believed to be a Risso's dolphin, swam to shore
at the Zamboanga pier on Tuesday, Navy Lieutenant Nancy Pastor said.
A Naval Special
Warfare Group unit brought the animal back to deep water but it
swam back to the pier.
Environment
department personnel were called in and the navymen transferred
the stricken dolphin to a holding tank at a government-run fisheries
school.
Pastor said
the marine mammal may have beached itself after suffering wounds.
It was not clear how it got the wounds.
Marine biologist
Oliver Tito said the authorities are worried about the dolphin's
health because they do not know the medicines needed to treat it
and do not have the facilities to hold it for an extended period.
The dolphin
is biggest aquatic animal to be brought to the school's facilities
to have survived for more than a day, he recalled.
( source : www.spacewar.com )
Land deal being worked out for new marine research
center - Mississippi
9th June, 2004
Construction
of a new marine research center here could begin in a few months,
if county officials can agree on the terms of a land deal.
The Institute
for Marine Mammal Studies received a $3 million grant in January
from the National Marine Fisheries Services to build a center at
the Bernard Bayou industrial park.
The new Center
for Marine Education and Research will host marine research projects
for universities and serve as a rehabilitation center for sick and
injured mammals rescued from the Gulf of Mexico.
The Harrison
County Development Commission owns the property where the center
will sit and has approved the project.
Harrison County
supervisors on Monday asked the commission to expedite the sale
of the land after learning that talks have stalled.
Moby Solangi,
president of the institute and director of Marine Life Oceanarium
in Gulfport, said the two groups are trying to work out details
about the amount of land that will be purchased and if the property
can be bought by the institute rather than leased.
Solangi said
he was confident that the minor differences could be worked out
and hopes to see construction begin in the coming months.
Universities
in Mississippi and other states will use the new research center.
Twenty-five research projects are under way under the auspices of
the institute, a nonprofit affiliated with Marine Life.
"This
area has one of the largest dolphin populations in the world,"
Solangi said. Studying marine mammals is a good way to assess the
overall health of the marine ecosystem, he said.
( source :
www.sunherald.com )
