26th May
Volunteers needed to help
with Devon Medic Courses
We have been
asked to provide a Marine Mammal medic course exclusively for the
staff of the Devon Cliffs holiday park near Exmouth. We hope that
this could be the beginning of a close link with this company ( Bourne
Leisure ) which has a number of sites across the UK. A course has
been arranged at short notice for the 13th June, 2004. This course
is not open to the public. ( was a previous date announced but has
been changed ).
We also have
a public course on the 11th September also at the Devon Cliffs park.
Places available, application form can be downloaded from the Training
page of the website.
If you are a
current Medic and can help out at these courses with setting up the
practical session, helping during the session and helping to pack
up .... please contact me via tony@bdmlr.org.uk
This is a great
way to refresh your skills, meet other medics and keep involved.
Hope to hear
from you soon.
Cheers,
Tony
Woodley
BDMLR OnLine
Exmouth Group Rescue/Training Co-ordinator
Strange mammal washed
up in Gran Canaria
24th May, 2004
On the Tauro
beach (Mogan) last Tuesday a strange creature was urged ashore by
a fishing boat. The animal was in an advanced stage of decomposition.
At first it appeared to be a huge dolphin,
but later it was described as a mixture between a sperm whale, a dolphin
and a walrus, with the body of a sperm whale around five metres long,
one fin and a small head with the mouth of a dolphin. What called
their attention were the large strange tusks which protruded from
the lower jaw. It was taken to the Oceanographic Institute for investigation.
Many species
are brought to this coast by the tides and we are awaiting confirmation
as to its identification, but I’m sure you’ve got better
contacts! I thought it might be of interest for the web page bulletin.
Sheila
Collis
Island Connections
Ps. I have replied
to Sheila with the thought that this animal may have been a 'Mesoplodon
layardii' or Strap Toothed whale. Take a look at this link for more
info ........ only thing is that it is quite a way out of its recorded
range. [ click HERE
]
Sheila will
get back to us with the results from the Oceanographic Institute.
Tony.
Captive Cetaceans
- Not a perfect picture ?
At this link
: click HERE
You will find a very interesting item
about captive marine mammals. This is a comprehensive and wide ranging
article with a large number of pages, images, graphics and videos.
Bear in mind
that BDMLR Director & Vet, James Barnett, has recently produced
a report "EVALUATION OF REHABILITATION AS AN OPTION FOR STRANDED
DOLPHINS, PORPOISES AND WHALES" which is based on a research
visit to a number of U.S. facilities. The report is available to download,
click HERE to go to the
Report page.
Cheers,
Tony
Woodley
BDMLR OnLine
Exmouth Group Rescue/Training Co-ordinator
Wild Capture
of Cetaceans
The problem
of dolphins and whales being wild caught for the captivity industry
is not getting any better - please help with the below..
Liz Sandeman
The
Marine Connection
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Dolphin swim programme planned for Europe
We have just been advised that tentative
enquiries are being made to allow a swim with dolphins facility somewhere
in Northern Europe. The link below is by a company carrying out market
research as to the feasibility of this facility. Please take 5 minutes
to participate in this, by answering the questions, indicating that
you would not support their swim with dolphins plans.
click
HERE
News just
in from our colleague, Ric O'Barry about some dolphin captures in
Haiti..
Action Alert
Haiti, May 18, 2004:
Several dolphins have been captured in
Haiti by a Mexican capture team. The dolphins are kept in a small
and shallow sea cage in the Arcadins Islands, near Port-au-Prince.
According to our local contact, the captures have been going on for
about three months. He reports that two dolphins have already died
and the survivors are not doing well. Some of them have many scars
from the capture and are sunburned from the lack of shade. The crude
cage is about 15 feet x 15 feet, only five feet deep. This tiny cage
holds eight Bottlenose dolphins. The Mexican capture team is building
a bigger cage and reportedly has plans to capture more dolphins.
A One Voice team is on its way to Haiti
to deal with this problem, and need your assistance:
Please take the time to send a polite
message to the new Haitian Minister of Environment. Ask him to confiscate
the dolphins immediately. Explain to him the cruelty connected with
wild dolphin captures, and point out to him that Haiti is going to
receive a great deal of bad publicity as a result of this capture.
If you represent an organization, please type your message on letterhead
and fax or mail it to the Minister. (Or do both, to make sure he receives
it.)
Send your letter to:
Monsieur Yves Andre Wainwright
Ministère de l'Environnement
181, Haut Turgeau
Port-au-Prince
Haïti
Téléphone: 00 (509) 245-7572 or 00 (509) 245-9309
Fax: 00 509 245-7360
Thankyou..
Liberated
whale salutes rescuers - Australia
21st May, 2004
It may have been
the first to make the annual winter migration up the Queensland coastline
this season – only to come to grief in a tangle of rope.
Its trapping reignited debate about the shark meshing program, but
Primary Industries Minister Henry Palaszczuk ruled out removing the
nets,
saying human life was more important than marine life.
The 6m, eight-tonne whale became ensnared
in the nets off Currumbin early yesterday. Dawn ski-paddlers alerted
authorities, and Queensland Boating and Fisheries Patrol and Sea World
marine animal rescuers sprang into action.
In a delicate and dangerous two-hour operation,
the rescuers used pole-mounted cutting tools to free the whale which
was heavily tangled by its tail and head. "It's a bit like trying
to work on an elephant, so it's always very dangerous," Boating
and Fisheries Patrol officer Mark Saul said.
Sea World spokesman Stephen McCourt said
the mammal had destroyed the nets and was docile from exhaustion,
making it easier to free. "It was a copybook rescue," he
said. "It's very tired . . . it's got a couple of cuts and nicks
on it; but I would expect it to make a full recovery."
( source : www.news.com.au )
Rescued dolphin off Zambales shores dies - Philippines
26th May, 2004
A DOLPHIN earlier rescued by government
authorities off the coast of Masinloc, Zambales died of pulmonary
congestion while undergoing treatment from veterinary doctors of the
Ocean Adventure Marine Park in Subic, environment officials announced
Tuesday.
Citing autopsy reports, Department of
Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) 3 Director Regidor de Leon
said the six-foot long Fraser's dolphin (Lagenodelphis hosei), ingested
assorted plastic bags in its first stomach and was suffering from
severe gastritis.
The marine mammal was also found to be
dehydrated, severely malnourished and underweight, and suffering from
tapeworm infestation, the report added.
Veterinarian Christopher Torno of the
Ocean Adventure Marine Park, who conducted the autopsy, said the dolphin
was given antibiotic and fluid therapy, but succumbed to severe pulmonary
congestion resulting to heart failure a day after it was brought to
the marine park for treatment.
Tissue samples from the marine mammal
had been taken to determine the original cause of its death even as
the management of the marine park has arranged for the transfer of
the dolphin to the University of the Philippines-Los Baños
Museum of Natural History for scientific study, Torno said.
As this developed, de Leon requested for
greater public vigilance and cooperation in government's environmental
protection and conservation activities, saying pollution caused by
garbage, particularly plastics, has taken its toll among marine animals.
He warned dolphins and other marine mammals
like whales and sea cows called dugong in Tagalog face continued threats
from marine pollution and destructive fishing such as the use of fine-mesh
nets which entangle and drown marine mammals.
"Dolphins are barometers of the state
of health of our oceans and seas, much like the rare Philippine Eagle
is an indicator of the health of our rainforests. If our dolphins
are sick, it may be that the entire marine ecosystem is in trouble,"
he said.
Global warming caused by the unprecedented
release of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases into the atmosphere
since the Industrial Revolution in the 1700s also threatens to disrupt
the marine ecosystem by destroying plankton.
Plankton, minute organisms that serve as food for most marine mammals,
are known to die at a slight increase in sea temperature of about
0.18 to 0.5 degrees Celsius, studies show.
Fraser's dolphins live offshore tropical
seas and are distinguished by their striped bodies, small flippers,
dorsal fin, and very short beak. They grow up to about nine feet long
and are known to frequent waters of southeastern Negros, Dumaguete,
Siquijor, Camiguin, Samal Island, and Davao Gulf.
The Philippines has some 2.7 million hectares
of coastal waters and about 200 million hectares of territorial waters
teeming with marine life.
The country's coastal zone stretches to
more than 17,000 kilometers - the world's fifth longest - providing
livelihood and sustenance to about 70 percent of the country's municipalities.
The rich ecosystem is home to 2,000 species
of fish; 5,000 species of snails, clams, and other mollusks; 488 species
of corals; 22 species of endangered marine mammals, six out of eight
species of marine turtles, and at least 22 species of beach vegetation
such as algae, sea grass beds and sea weeds communities.
( source : www.sunstar.com.ph )
Mating manatees
stop traffic along parkway - Florida
25th May, 2004
The first call came in about 9 a.m. Monday,
reporting a body in the bay just off the Courtney Campbell Parkway.
The next caller described it as a beached dolphin or maybe even a
whale, police said.
Turns out, it was just nature, and springtime. A female manatee was
being courted by a group of about 10 males, all vying for her affections.
A crowd of onlookers formed. Parents pointed,
and cell phones and handhelds snapped images of the manatee herd frolicking
just offshore in 2 to 3 feet of water. Horns blared as traffic slowed
along the bridge near Ben T. Davis Beach. About 500 people had stopped
by noon, said Luis Valquez of the Tampa Police marine unit.
At one point, the manatees thrashed around,
momentarily creating the effect of a white water fountain. Then they
dispersed, only to return.
"Sometimes it looks violent,"
said Virginia Edmonds, assistant curator of Florida mammals at Lowry
Park Zoo. During breeding season, which begins in May, the zoo gets
many calls from people concerned that a manatee looks like it's suffering.
Often, the zoo explains, they're just
mating.
Otherwise, Edmonds said, "It's not
often that you see a herd of them. They're not that social usually."
About 1,000 of the estimated 3,300 endangered
manatees in Florida live in shallow waters in the Tampa Bay area,
Edmonds said. Females with calves sometimes travel in small herds,
but males are usually solitary and play no role in raising calves.
But these males had sensed a female's
presence.
"If she's ready to breed, the males
know that and want to pass on their genes," Edmonds said.
Sheri Etchemendy, a researcher with the
Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, was on the scene
Monday, documenting the manatees' scars. Each time one of the creatures
rose out of the water, she snapped a photo.
Most Florida manatees are identified by
their scar patterns from propellers or boat hulls, she said.
Carol Mann, 59, whose vehicle sports a
manatee license plate, stopped to see what was happening Monday, along
with her husband, Dan Klinke, 51.
"We've never seen anything like this
before," Mann said. "We thought it was like a beached whale
or something."
They strolled along the edge of the bay,
gazing out at the herd and talking of a trip to Crystal River to swim
with manatees.
"What a nice way to spend a day,"
Klinke said.
( source : www.sptimes.com )
In wild, many
marine mammals are at risk from human influences
24th May, 2004
The carcasses of more than 120 bottlenose
dolphins washed up along the shores of the Florida Panhandle last
month, the victims of what scientists suspect was a red tide outbreak
and environmentalists blame on run-off from development.
From pollution to hunting and fishing, marine mammals in the wild
die by the thousands from contact with humans.
Scientists suspect the recent dolphin
die-off in the Panhandle resulted from high levels of a toxin associated
with red tide, but they disagree about what causes the deadly algal
blooms. Some say red tide is naturally occurring; others agree with
environmental groups that pollution can trigger it.
Wastewater run-off, rich in phosphorus
and nitrogen, feeds phytoplankton in the water and sets off explosive
growth, they say. The Natural Resources Defense Council wants a halt
to discharges into the Gulf of Mexico by industry, farms and residential
neighborhoods.
In a sweeping and critical report last
month, the U.S. Commission on Ocean Policy, which Congress set up
in 2000, called for immediate action to end gross pollution of the
oceans from shoreline development, the use of offshore oil and gas,
coastal tourism and marine transportation.
Fishing
Fishermen netting tuna kill 1,500 to 2,000
dolphins a year. International agreements that include measures allowing
observers to accompany fishing crews have reduced the mortality, which
reached 400,000 a year in the early 1970s. However, dolphin populations
are not rebounding as scientists expected.
Researchers in Britain say 800 whales
and dolphins die daily around the world because of fishing. Europe
recently limited the use of nets and began requiring pingers, which
emit sonic signals, to warn dolphins away.
Two months ago, rescuers chased up the
East Coast after a young North Atlantic right whale - a rare, endangered
species - was found off St. Augustine badly entangled in a fishing
net. Nicknamed Kingfisher, the 34-foot-long whale was seen with lines
wrapped around his blowhole and mid-body, fishing buoys and gear slapping
his sides.
The lines could embed in his flesh and
set off an infection. Rescuers attached a tracking device and figured
they could trail and eventually free him, but a ship along the New
Jersey shore cut off the tracking device and Kingfisher's whereabouts
and health are unknown.
Boating
Marine mammals caught in the paths of
boats and ships die by the hundreds every year. Manatees are common
victims of boating throughout Florida, but other animals affected
include the endangered right whale. Ships struck and killed at least
12 of the estimated 300 left in the 1990s.
Hunting
Despite a global moratorium on whaling,
Norway still hunts and kills about 700 minke whales a year. Japan
kills a similar number for what it describes as research. The United
States banned whaling in 1972. The year before, U.S. hunters killed
132 whales.
Canada has gradually increased a quota
on harp seal hunts, allowing up to 350,000 a year to be killed. Their
skins are turned into suede and other leather goods. Protests stopped
what many considered the inhumane practice of clubbing newborns to
death. Now, hunters in trawlers are allowed to shoot animals that
are at least 12 days old.
Military
Some scientists have concluded that military
use of sonar in the world's oceans may be responsible for dozens of
whale and dolphin deaths in recent years. The U.S. Navy initially
denied a connection to its sonar in the beaching and deaths of eight
whales following a training exercise in 2000 in the Bahamas but later
ruled out all other causes. Researchers found bleeding around the
whales' brains and ears, likely from exposure to loud noise.
Marine
mammals depend on sound to communicate.
Sonic waves can shake and tear the animals'
organs, cause them to become disoriented and even kill them, some
scientists believe. The noises also may cause marine mammals to panic
and ascend too rapidly. Researchers found gas bubbles in whales that
beached themselves and died after a 2002 international naval exercise
in the Canary Islands, leading the researchers to conclude the animals
may have suffered decompression sickness akin to the bends, which
afflicts scuba divers.
Last fall, in a settlement of a lawsuit
filed by environmentalists, the Navy agreed to limit use of a new
sonar system to detect enemy submarines. However, the Navy's use of
dolphins for detection continues, with dolphins on assignment in oceans
near Iraq.
( source : www.sun-sentinel.com )
Whale
rescue under way - Australia
