16th October
Hi all,
Here are a number of items sent to
me to send out on a News bulletin. An international 'rescue round-up'
will follow shortly.
Thanks to those who have contributed.
Cheers,
Tony
Woodley
Exmouth BDMLR Rescue/Training Co-ordinator
BDMLR OnLine
U.S.
Cetacean Rehab Report - Addendum
I have received an addendum to this report from it's author, James
Barnett. The addendum concerns newly released data from Sea World
on release rates.
For the fully up-to-date report, including the addendum found at
the end of the report, click on the link on the BDMLR website homepage.
Cheers,
Tony.
Co-ordinators
Map - Website
Hi all,
On the BDMLR website at the 'Area Co-ordinators'
link there is an interactive map. This map needs updating with co-ordinators
details.
Co-ordinators, please check that your
details are on the map and that they are correct.
If you need to get your details either
added/removed or updated, please email me with your amendments at
tony@bdmlr.org.uk .
Cheers,
Tony Woodley
Exmouth BDMLR Rescue/Training Co-ordinator
BDMLR OnLine
Seals
help out at Newquay training course.
12th
October
Yesterday
(11th October) the BDMLR held a medic training course in Newquay,
Cornwall. It was attended by about 40 delegates, all of whom enjoyed
the informative lectures and practical sessions throughout the day.
[ Pic : Phil Jarvis (
left ) leading pontoon training ]
The
practical sessions in the afternoon were also attended by 3 Grey
Seals (2 adults and 1 juvenile) who were also very interested in
our work and watched us for the entire afternoon floundering about
in the water with the inflatable whale and rescue pontoons!
We would like to give our thanks
to everyone who helped set up the course and assisted on the day.
Specifically we would like to thank BDMLR director Mark Stevens
for doing lectures and making sure everything ran smoothly, and
Area Co-ordinators Arie den Hollander and Tim Bain with Phil Jarvis
for doing the other lectures and practical sessions.
All in all, it was a very successful,
and unusual, day!
Dan
Jarvis
Marine Mammal Medic
Newquay
Course - a Directors report
13th October
The event had 41 candidates
from as far away as Staffordshire (Well done Phillip and Jessamy!)
Two dedicated folk drove through the early hours to be at the venue
by 0900! Dedicated stuff!
The
event was hosted by Bex Allen in a fantastic new lab for zoology
students. At one stage I asked everyone to tell us all their name
and say one interesting thing about themselves. Well some strange
stuff came out. We had a former French Foreign Legionnaire, and
a Fijian!!! Everyone enjoyed the closeness of the seals in Newquay,
they even licked the drysuit zips of some folk!
I
would like to thank a few people who made this course a success.
In no special order order. Bex Allen, Kris Stevens, Arie Den Hollander,
Dave Jarvis and all the Jarvis family (who put so much time and
effort into the course, both before and after,. Iris, at HQ, Tim
Bain (who did his first ever lecture) and Mary-Lou Watt owner of
the Smugglers Rest B&B ( www.smugglersrest.co.uk
) for cutting me a deal on the stay down there. Great Breakfast
close to the water if you are interested.
Those of you that live
in the SW can look forward to some great things shortly. Hopefully
they will be fully reported so other areas can run the same type
of events.
Finally thank you to all
the folk of Newquay, for putting up with us all and a big thanks
to everyone that attended and good luck Capt. Keith!!
Mark
Stevens
Director BDMLR
Telephone (0) +44 1825 765546
Mobile (0) +44 07770 57 44 49
Whale
Strandings - Holland
Here is a report, unedited,
received via Alan Knight ( BDMLR Director ) from our colleagues
at the Pieterburen Zeehondencreche in Holland. It makes very interesting
reading. Once again I have not included all the pics in this email
to keep the size of the bulletin down. Later today I will update
the October News page on the website with the full report and all
the pics.
Tony.
Middelburg, 12th Oktober
We
are een group of volunteers of the Seal Research and Rescue Center
of Pieterburen ( www.zeehondencreche.nl
)
We are living on the coast of the Netherlands. The region we are
working is from The Belgian border to the river nieuwe waterweg
near Rotterdam (South west of the Netherlands).
The points on the map are
the city’s were we are living.
(See the map.)
see also the website
www.zeezoogdieren.be
On 3 juni 2002 the river police of Vlissingen called me up at 17.00
u and told me the next thing: “Jaap w’ve got a big wale
on the river. Could you come to us”. So I called my partners
of the group. On that moment the baywatch Albert Dijkstra called
me also. He told i’m going out with my boat and i go to the
whale I heart the message on the radio.
The rivber police picked
me up and Albert was in the neighbouroud of the whale. He made some
pictures of the sperm whale. Than the sperm whale take a dive and
was going under the rescue boat. Albert thinks: when he give me
a push than I don’t no what happpend.
The
boat is 5.25 m long. The sperm whale was 3 times the boat (15 meter)
Then
the sperm whale is for 1 hour away.
We found the whale before the habour Ritthem.
Before the habour is a hole in the river of 50 meter.
In that hole can the whal take some breath.
After 1 hour the whale is coming up.
Than we can push weith engines nois to open water.
At the evening op 3 juni
2002 at 21.30 uur the sperm whale Is swimming out side the river
to open see.
The sperm whal was never seen again.
Next
story
3 december 2000
Before the coast of Schouwen
– Duiveland there were seeing 5 sperm whales through a sports
fischerman.
See
next foto’s Those pictues are made through Dries van Weenen.
The 5 sperm whales wher
seeing: 5 –12 / 6-12 and 7 – 12 in the neighbourhood
of London
Next story
On 14 januari 2001 a big
whale in the habour of Vlisisngen.
Ottawa
eyes three Luna reunion plans
16th October
The fate
of Luna the lonely orca may rest with one of three proposals under
consideration by Fisheries and Oceans Canada.
The government announced Wednesday that three proposals had been
received late Tuesday, offering ways to move a young male orca out
of Nootka Sound. The whale is posing a hazard to boaters near Gold
River.
Details
of the plans to move the four-year-old orca back to its family pod
in Juan de Fuca Strait are sketchy and the federal government is
giving no hints as to which, if any, of the proposals would get
the nod.
The
young male orca has become an attraction for some and a nuisance
for others in Gold River, where he's settled since becoming separated
from his pod two years ago.
Word
spread Wednesday that the three groups submitting proposals to move
Luna, also known as L98, are the Vancouver Aquarium, the Friday
Harbor Whale Museum and a U.S.-based capture group.
Ideas
are one thing, cash is quite another.
"Money
is an issue for everyone -- we're quite challenged with the money
thing," said Mark Pakenham of the Luna Stewardship Project,
who has been working on an element of the Vancouver Aquarium proposal.
Pakenham hopes that any group awarded the scientific licence to
move the whale from Nootka Sound will become eligible for government
funds from Canada, the U.S. -- or both.
"It's
hoped that once the plan is accepted, money will be there,"
said Pakenham.
Fisheries
and Oceans staff will go through the proposals and may, by next
week, be ready to narrow the field, said spokeswoman Deborah Phelan.
While
scientists from the Vancouver Aquarium were instrumental in the
successful relocation of another young orca last year, the situation
is much different here. A young female orca nicknamed Springer attracted
a lot of media attention and public donations, said aquarium spokeswoman
Angela Nielsen.
"There
doesn't seem to be the same public interest in Luna," she said.
A
fundraising drive by the aquarium "is going rather slowly,"
she said.
Only
$4,400 has been collected in donations for a venture that's estimated
to cost upwards of $600,000.
"We've
offered what we can bring to the table but we don't feel we can
afford it on our own," said Nielsen.
If
the Vancouver Aquarium proposal is not accepted, the people there
will lend a hand if asked.
"We
just want what's best for Luna," she said.
"If
we're not selected we will do whatever we can to assist whoever
is."
Luna's
plight has attracted attention of people across the country. News
reports prompted former Victoria resident Larry Chickoski -- now
a resident of Moose Jaw, Sask. -- to telephone the Times Colonist
with a suggestion.
Chickoski
suggests those wanting to fundraise open a bank account accessible
to Canadians wanting to contribute.
"I'd
toss in 10 bucks and there are an awful lot of people like me across
Canada who would do the same."
The
story of Luna touched Chickoski, he said.
"I
feel for this animal. I'm an animal lover. Luna is missing his pod,
he's missing his friends. He's adopting boats and somebody is going
to get hurt.
"He's
not dangerous -- he's a kid. To him the bottom of a 15-foot boat
looks like a good looking girl."
(
source : www.canada.com/ )
Dolphin
preparing to return to wild - U.S.
14th October
She smiled as only a dolphin can.
It was the kind of smile makes a person
want to jump into the pool and play, perhaps grab her dorsal fin
for a quick ride.
It was the kind of smile that causes
cameras to flash and children to press their face against a tank's
glass.
She split time between nudging her
toys -- a ball and Styrofoam floatie -- and checking out her human
visitors.
Again she smiled.
"She's very social, very interactive,"
said animal care manager Charles Manire of Mote Marine Laboratory's
Dolphin and Whale Hospital. "She wants to play and wants to
interact all the time."
She is Vixen, a 3-year-old, 7-foot-long
rough-toothed dolphin found sick and stranded on Don Pedro Island
last Christmas. She had pneumonia, ulcers covering half her stomach
and a belly full of sponges.
For nearly six weeks, she needed around-the-clock
care.
It took a year for animal specialists
to nurse Vixen back to health, taking the deep-sea dolphin from
a sickly 125 pounds to a sturdy 180 pounds.
But her stay in Mote Marine's 200,000-gallon
rehabilitation tank is coming to an end. Vixen's release date will
largely depend on the outcome of her next liver enzyme test -- a
positive check-up and Vixen could be released within three weeks.
"There's certainly going to be
some emotions involved," Manire said. "You can't interact
with these animals and not develop some kind of attraction to them."
During her 11 months at Mote Marine,
Vixen spent time in three tanks. In the first, a 4-foot-deep tank,
marine workers helped the weak dolphin to simply swim.
They hugged her, and walked with her
in the pool. That's also where they gave Vixen most of her drugs
and performed most of the lab tests.
"Unfortunately, she doesn't have
any insurance, so we had to pay full price for all the drugs we
got," Manire said.
Vixen then spent six months in the
aquarium's critical care tank, before graduating to her current
12-foot-deep pool. She even has a playmate now: Moonshine, a small
spotted dolphin found stranded in the Florida Keys.
The large pool gives the dolphins the
chance to exercise and build strength before their eventual return
to the wild.
"She's not much of a jumper, though,"
Manire said of Vixen, who likes to float on the surface.
Occasionally, she'd turn on her side
and raise her pectoral fin. But the movement was far from the picture-perfect
waves performed by trained dolphins. Still, she smiled.
After nearly a year of constant care
-- care that costs $1,000 a day - Mote experts and Vixen herself
are preparing for the coming move.
To build her strength, she eats five
meals a day, each time consuming about two pounds of fish.
She was also marked with a No. 37 to
help track her, and will soon be given an electronic satellite transmitter.
For three months, the device will send Mote Marine experts details
on the dolphin's depth, longitude and latitude.
The $5,000 system will tell scientists
where Vixen is -- and if the treatment paid off.
"It tells us how the rehabilitation
worked," Manire said. "We get a lot of information that
we couldn't get in any other way."
Manire said Vixen has a 90 percent
chance of survival. Mote representatives will take her about 75
miles offshore before giving her back to the sea. There, Manire
said, she'll likely link up with a pod of wild dolphins.
"It will be sad," Manire
said, "but at lot of people spent a lot of time getting her
healthy. So it will also be a happy moment."
You can bet Vixen will be smiling.
(
source : www.sun-herald.com )
Graphic
evidence of whale's near miss - S.Africa
12th October
Four deep gashes across the head of a juvenile southern right whale
are graphic evidence of the dangers boats pose to the giant mammals
of the ocean.
Cape
Town veterinary surgeon and underwater photographer Geoff Spiby
took photographs of the injuries to the whale off a reef at Smitswinkel
Bay in False Bay recently.
Spiby
said the gashes, each about half a metre long, could only have been
caused by a boat propeller.
"And looking at the size of the wounds, it must have been a
trawler."
Spiby
said he was snorkelling with friends when the young whale appeared
and swam with them.
The
group had a magical time with the gentle giant who spent some 45
minutes up close and personal.
"She
wouldn't leave us alone. She'd swim past us then turn round and
come back again."
Spiby
said the whale came so close to them at times that he even touched
her.
"I
didn't notice the wounds at first but eventually I realised something
was wrong. One gash near her baleen plates seemed to have healed,
but with a defect."
He
said the whale didn't appear at all camera shy - even when he used
a powerful strobe.
"Fortunately
I had a very wide-angle lens (16mm) which was ideal for the job
because without it I wouldn't have got all the detail of the whale."
Boat-based
whale watching has become big business in the Western Cape but there
is legislation to prevent operators from getting too close.
However
every year there are reports of gung-ho operators causing havoc
by venturing too close.
Nan
Rice, of the Dolphin Action and Protection Group, said it was possible
the whale had been hit by mistake because they often rested just
below the surface.
"It
was probably someone who just didn't see the whale."
But
Rice said there had been a lot of complaints recently about yachts
venturing too close and weaving among the whales, "although
people who have permits seem to be complying with the code of conduct".
( source : www.iol.co.za )
A
Dolphin Swims in Brooklyn ?
10th October
They called him Flipper, and though he was swimming faster than
lightning, the subway conductors said they were sure it was a dolphin
they spotted Friday in the greenish waters of the Gowanus Canal.
"It's
amazing," said G train conductor Joseph Cutter, 50. "I've
seen seals, the otters, whatever they are. But it's the first time
I saw a dolphin."
"You
can pick anything out of that water," he said. "It was
headed back out to sea, right before the train overpass. The thing
was making a little wake behind it.
"I
know it wasn't a submarine," he added.
If
confirmed, such a sighting would be a first for the famously putrid
canal, which has become cleaner in recent years. It flows remnants
of past industry, as well as a cement terminal, construction barges
and a few abandoned lots. Seals, herons, jellyfish, cormorants,
small fish and crabs are now common sights.
Last
year, locals named a 1-year-old harp seal who decided to call the
canal home, dubbing her Gowana. Marine biologists eventually moved
her out to sea, where they thought she would have a better chance
of survival.
Several
Marine biologists said Friday that the idea of a dolphin in the
Gowanus wasn't entirely far-fetched.
"It's
possible, it's definitely possible," said Kim Durham, director
of the state's whale, dolphin and seal rescue program at the Riverhead
Foundation. "They are definitely in our waters right now, feeding
and migrating."
Durham
said white-nosed dolphins, porpoises and seals stream up and down
the Hudson and East rivers toward the Atlantic from as far away
as Maine. In June, an injured, 7.5-foot white-nosed dolphin was
recovered from a marsh area in Great Neck.
Some
morning commuters found the conductors' story a little, well, fishy,
even after the news last week that Ming, a 200-pound tiger was found
in Harlem.
"A
dolphin? It's hard to believe," said Carolina Dec, 26, of Borough
Park. "Anything is possible," she added, before resuming
her reading.
"I
believe it," said Paul Navarro, 34, a subway trackworker and
lifelong catch-and-release fisherman of area waters. "A lot
of people don't know, but there's all kinds of whales, porpoises
and dolphins out there."
"Nothing
surprises me in this city," added his co-worker and fellow
fisherman, Douglas Dease, 47, of Flatbush. "I could see a cow
walking down the street, it wouldn't surprise me."
( source : www.nynewsday.com )
NAVY
SONAR 'GIVING DOLPHINS THE BENDS'
10th October
Sonar signals emitted from military vessels may be causing dolphins,
whales and porpoises to suffer fatal attacks of the "bends".
Scientists say they have discovered that the echo signals, used
to detect submarines, appear to be linked to cases of the creatures
stranding themselves.
They
say sonar use may need to be regulated to protect the marine mammals.
Environmentalists
have warned that as sonar technology advances, the problem is likely
to worsen.
Lindy
Hingley, founder of Brixham Seawatch, said: "This is definitely
a growing problem.
"It
is something that needs to be investigated properly.
"Dolphins
are affected just by the noise from fast outboard motors. Noise
like that messes up their own echo location equipment."
Examinations
on the bodies of ten stranded beaked whales revealed clear signs
of gas bubble formation in blood vessels and bleeding from vital
organs - symptoms of the bends, a potentially fatal condition which
occurs when creatures surface too quickly.
Scientists
from the UK and Spain have discovered damage to the livers and kidneys
of animals they examined, including gas-filled cavities.
The
decompression damage, typical of divers who ascend to the surface
too quickly, does not normally affect sea mammals. The whales were
among 14 stranded last September on the beaches of Fuerteventura
and Lanzarote in the Canary Islands, close to the site of an international
naval exercise.
Stranding
began about four hours after the onset of mid-frequency sonar activity.
Scientists examining the bodies said the sonar signals might cause
changes in diving behaviour, leading the whales to accelerate their
normal ascent rates.
Alternatively,
sonar might in some way physically trigger a catastrophic eruption
of bubbles in the whales.
Previous
cases of dolphins, harbour porpoises and one whale stranded on British
beaches between October 1992 and January 2003 had also shown evidence
of the bends.
Scientist
Paul Jepson, from the Zoological Society of London, said: "Further
investigation is needed into the physical and behavioural effects
on cetaceans exposed to sonar.
"What
is still unclear is whether the sonar could be damaging the cetaceans
directly by somehow affecting their tissues, or whether the soundwaves
frighten them into making too rapid an ascent, with the same result."
A
spokeswoman for the Ministry of Defence said: "The MoD recognises
the importance of the marine environment and its value to wildlife.
"We
are keen to ensure that the right balance is achieved between legitimate
and operationally important activities and the protection of our
marine wildlife and habitats."
The
spokeswoman said the MoD recognised that sonar might be harmful.
She
said: "It is MoD policy that activities such as the use of
sonar that may have a potentially harmful impact on the environment
requires mitigating measures to reduce that effect.
"Active
sonar releases energy into the ocean, and there is some evidence
to suggest that this has an effect on the physiology and behavioural
patterns of marine mammals, primarily whales, dolphins and porpoises.
"However,
the precise scientific effects are not clear and not proven.
"The
MoD has adopted a precautionary principle to mitigate against undue
effects on the marine environment.
"We
will take all reasonable and practical measures to protect the environment."
( source : www.westernmorningnews.co.uk )
Right
whale hit by ship dies in Bay of Fundy - Canada
9th
October
Scientists
were beginning a study of a dead right whale's final movements Wednesday
after determining it died from a lethal ship strike in the Bay of
Fundy.
Researchers
from two American marine science organizations want to piece together
the endangered whale's travel route before it was found last Saturday
in waters off the tip of southwestern Nova Scotia.
They're
hoping that if they can identify the area, they might be able to
introduce restrictions that could prevent further deaths of the
mammals, which only number about 300 worldwide.
"We
might have to consider putting some mandatory speed conditions in
the Bay of Fundy or having a lookout posted on the bow of a ship,"
Jerry Conway, a marine mammals adviser for the Department of Fisheries
and Oceans, said Wednesday.
"Certainly
we have to look at what our management opportunities are to further
mitigate ship strikes. We are confirming that this whale died from
a ship strike."
Michael
Moore, a research scientist with the Woods Hole Institution in Massachusetts,
said a complex hydrographic study analyzing the whale's drift patterns
might identify where it was struck by a passing vessel.
The
examination will take currents and tides into consideration in figuring
out where the 50-tonne whale, believed to be an adult female, was
killed.
"If
we were to show that a ship strike occurred on this animal in the
Bay of Fundy, then that is a significant data point to the ongoing
analysis of how to best manage this species," Moore said of
the whale, thought to be between eight to 12 years old.
A
local fishing dragger recovered the 13.5-metre-long carcass and
took it to shore in Digby, N.S. A necropsy was conducted Sunday
by experts from the University of Prince Edward Island's veterinary
college.
Officials
from the New England Aquarium and Woods Hole were also on site and
taking part in the investigation.
Right
whales and humpbacks travel each summer to the Bay of Fundy to dine
on the area's rich supply of plankton. Many mothers bring their
young calves to the area for the summer.
The
loss of this whale was a setback to the handful of researchers who
study the rare creatures, since there are only about 60 breeding
females left in the population.
"This
is a very serious blow to the right whale recovery effort,"
Moore said. "Every mature female is of particular value."
Aside
from getting caught in webs of floating ropes and gear, the other
big killer of whales along the eastern seaboard are ship strikes.
Four
whales were successfully freed this summer from tangled fishing
gear by trained volunteers in the Bay of Fundy, located between
New Brunswick and Nova Scotia.
(
source : www.ctv.ca )
Beach burial - Australia
8th October
AN
unfortunate spectacle became a massive tourist attraction on Monday
as a constant stream of people took a close look at a humpback whale
washed up on Seven Mile Beach near Shoalhaven Heads.
And authorities believe the giant of the deep may have sustained
its fatal injuries in a collision with a boat.
The humpback, which is about 12.5 metres long and weighs an estimated
25 tonne, was found early on Monday.
When fully matured, a humpback whale grows to around 16 metres.
National Parks and Wildlife ranger Bruce Gray said that the whale
appeared to have been floating adrift for up to a week before becoming
beached.
"It's really hard to say why the animal died, it's a sub-adult
male which we believe may have been struck by a boat," Mr Gray
said.
"There are marks along its body, but whether they are bite
marks, or propeller marks it's very hard to tell.
"However it does appear to have been damaged by something.
"One of the pectoral fins is broken, probably from an impact
with a big boat. The whale had already started to decay, so it's
really hard to say," Mr Gray said.
The NPWS contacted volunteers from the ORCA group and together they
speculated about the whale's demise based on the physical injuries.
"ORCA, who have volunteers with expertise in various marine
animals, have collected tissue samples and marine parasites from
the whale.
"There is a central database run by NPWS and all these things
are collated so hopefully over time we can put them together into
a bigger picture," Mr Gray said.
As for the fact that there was another dead whale washed into shore
further down the coast Mr Gray said it might simply be that as numbers
increase, so do their chances of colliding with boats.
The whale was buried behind the sand dune yesterday.
(
source : www.nowra.yourguide.com.au/ )
die on the beach." 
None
too cheap either. One of the things that Flett quickly found out was
the size of a young otter’s appetite. "On average he goes
through three whole whiting or halibut a day - and these are expensive
fish when you buy them fresh at local retail outlets. One of the first
lessons I learned was not to give him the herring and mackerel we
buy in bulk for the seals because he gets wall-to-wall diarrhoea -
not a pleasant experience for either of us." 
was
in a pool meant for turtles and had been fitted with floats to prevent
drowning.