12/27/2023 0 Comments Whales in puget sound![]() We also developed a body condition index to evaluate the animals’ nutritional health - were they eating enough salmon, for example - to see what role food might play in the sickness and death of stranded animals. This study reinforces the need for this, showing that in addition to noise and disturbance, vessel strikes are an important cause of death in killer whales. ![]() In recent years governments have focused on limiting vessel noise and disturbance. This is the first study to document the lesions and forensic evidence of lethal trauma from ship and propeller strikes. (Paul Cottrell/Fisheries and Oceans Canada), Author provided Post-mortem examination suggested he died from trauma consistent with vessel strike. The 18-year-old male southern resident killer whale, J34, stranded near Sechelt, B.C., on Dec. Some had ingested fishing hooks, but evidence of blunt-force trauma, consistent with ship and propeller strikes, was more common. Human-caused injuries were found in nearly every age group of whales, including adults, sub-adults and calves. We identified the cause of death in 22 animals, and gained important insight from nine other animals where the cause of death could not be determined. To figure out why these killer whales are dying - and what it means for the health of individual animals and the population as a whole - we reviewed the post-mortem records of 53 animals that became stranded in the eastern Pacific Ocean and Hawaii between 20. And in most cases, only cursory or incomplete post-mortem exams can be done, generating a limited amount of information. Only three per cent and 20 per cent of the northern and southern resident killer whales, respectively, that died between 19 were even found and available for a post-mortem exam. Human activities have been implicated in the decline and lack of recovery of the southern resident killer whale population, including ship noise and strikes, contaminants, reduced prey abundance and past capture of these animals for aquariums. If we don’t know what is causing killer whale deaths, we are not able to prevent the ones that are human-caused. ![]() As a pathologist and wildlife veterinarian, and with the help of countless biologists and veterinarians, we have carried out in-depth investigations into why killer whales in this region strand and died.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |