Hi all,

It has been so busy for us here in the Rescue department that we have not had time to write about this story. As many of you saw on the news, we recently responded to a dead minke whale on the north shore of Massachusetts.


Photo by Nancy Smith

The whale stranded on Crane Beach, which is managed by the Trustees of Reservations. We began working with the Trustee staff at the reservation to establish a necropsy (animal autopsy) plan for this whale. There are a lot of logistics that must be worked out before a necropsy can take place. The Trustee staff determined that it would be possible to bury the carcass on their property; that set the stage for a necropsy exam.



The first step when a large whale strands on the beach is to dispatch a team to the site as quickly as possible. This team will perform an external exam and collect life history information. In this case staff members Kerry and Ulrika took a team to the whale and worked with the Trustees staff to collect the data, photo document the whale and secure it for a the necropsy exam.

The photo below shows the team photographing the mouth area on this whale. This is a great photo of the baleen.


The necropsy team includes a necropsy team leader, a site coordinator, safety officer, a photographer, a scribe, a team of cutters, a team of runners and a team in charge of sampling. There are many other roles but these are the most important.

In the photo below, the necropsy team begins the dissection. The heavy machinery is used to remove and bury blubber and other parts after the team has examined them.


In this photo Dr. Charles Innis, the Aquarium's chief veterinarian, examines tissue and collects a sample from the whale. Over his shoulder is the scribe who records information in real time.


Collecting samples for histological evaluation is of great importance as it will help us determine the cause of death. We have a trained sampling team who records and tracks each tissue as it is collected and preserved.

In the photo below, Aquarium biologists Kerry and Eric record each tissue as it is collected.


Large whales tend to be pretty obvious on the beach so in preparation for large crowds that tend to gather to watch the necropsy we brought three of our Aquarium educators. These folks educated the public on Minke whales and on the necropsy process.

In the photo below Aquarium Educator, Kara Mahoney Robinson, shows two onlookers a piece of baleen from our collection.


We would not have been able to investigate the death of this whale if not for the help and cooperation from the Trustees of Reservations on Crane Beach. Their role was crucial and their help and expertise with heavy machinery made this necropsy possible.

In the photo below Arthur Howe (Art), the Public Safety Manager for Crane Beach, checks his radio. Art, and the other staff from the Trustees of Reservations were truly great to work with. In the background of this photo you can see other Trustee employees managing the soft tissue from the whale.


What would a day conducting a large whale necropsy on the beach be like without getting our truck stuck in the sand? We don't know! The great Trustee staff helped pull us out with one of the machines, otherwise the tide would have claimed out truck - YIKES!


It will take several weeks for all the test results to come back. Once we receive the pathology report and other test results, our chief veterinarian will review these reports and other data to determine a cause of death.

Thanks to all our staff, volunteers and colleagues who helped with this necropsy. A special thanks goes to the Trustees of Reservations on Crane Beach for all their help and support.

- Connie

The Rescue Team had an eventful day in our own backyard. I received a call on our hotline from the Quincy Police Department that there was a stranded porpoise in Quincy. Once it was determined that the porpoise was alive, I told them we were on the way.

Unlike seals which are semi-aquatic and often rest on the beach, a dolphin on land is in immediate need of assistance. When we get a call for a live dolphin, we automatically pack our gear and head out to the scene. If it is a far distance, we'll have one of our field volunteers go out to provide supportive care to the animal while we are in route. This case happened to be in Quincy, near our Animal Care Center, so we were there in no time.




The above photo is an Atlantic white-sided dolphin that stranded in Duxbury last week.

We also faced another challenge with this rescue: mud, and lots of it [similar to this March 2010 rescue effort]. The dolphin was stranded on a mud flat making it quite a journey to get out to the animal. After getting stuck a few times, we made it out to the dolphin. We were able to get the seagulls away, but they had already done damage to the blowhole. The animal was in a great deal of stress from the stranding event. We did our initial exam and collected blood to be analyzed.


Above: We made it out to the dolphin and prepared to draw blood on the animal.



I had called Adam to bring us some more stretchers and a sled to pull the animal across the mud in. Adam was a trooper and came to our rescue.


Based on the results of our exam, blood work, and the fact that the social needs of this animal could not be met, we elected to humanely euthanize this animal. Although euthanasia is always a difficult decision, it was in the best interest of this animal. The rescue team performed a necropsy on the animal the next day in order to determine the cause of the stranding. There was nothing obvious to determine the cause on gross exam, and pathology is pending. Even though the cause of stranding remains unclear, the damage from the gulls during the stranding event and the fact that it stranded alone were the reasons euthanasia was the best option in this case.



Our way back to dry land with the dolphin carcass was adventurous. Our necropsy coordinater Katie and intern Kelly were laying out stretchers for Adam and I to walk over while pulling this 100+ pound carcass across the mud. We had to make the most of a difficult situation, and watching Katie fall in the mud definitely helped.

You can read more on what to do when you find a stranded marine animal on the beach here. A special thanks to the Quincy Police Department for reporting this animal so quickly!

Hi ALL, THIS IS A BLOG ABOUT A LARGE WHALE

WORKSHOP...ONE AREA WHERE SIZE MATTERS!

Okay enough with the giant letters, I think I made my point. (If you are just jumping in on this blog, click here and here to catch up. But in short, Adam and I attended a large whale workshop at the NERS (Northeast Region Stranding Network) conference.) Keep in mind that this workshop focused on large whales found deceased floating at sea or found dead on the beach. Live large whale response was covered at a separate workshop at a different meeting.

The workshop was hosted by Susan Barco from the Virginia Aquarium Stranding Program and Bill McLellan from the University of North Carolina at Wilmington. Sue and Bill have years of experience performing detailed dissections on large whales and shared their knowledge with the group. Tricks of the trade included the best type of heavy machinery to move these mammoth animals, safety of the dissection (necropsy) team, tissue examinations, sample collection, sample preservation and much much more.

Below Sue and Bill answer questions from the workshop participants.


After a short coffee break, sponsored by those nice folks at the College of the Atlantic, the workshop continued with several case studies from other network members. Once the case studies were presented a group discussion followed which generated some excellent dialog and great ideas.


In the photo below Dr. Cindy Driscoll (doctor of veterinary medicine) reports on the case of a difficult large whale event in her region. Apparently a ship came to port with a dead whale strapped to the bulb on the front of the freighter. Dr. Driscoll shared with the group the challenges she faced, her problem solving techniques and her follow through plan.



In the photo below, the presenters gather at the front for the discussion phase of the workshop. These cases studies were an excellent vehicle for the information and to generate thought among all who attended. The discussion was dynamic and energetic. As a matter of fact we got so caught up we exceeded the end of the workshop by an hour.


This was an important conference with interesting, informative and motivating workshops. We had a lot of participation from locals, in particular students from the College of the Atlantic. The mix of participants added to the experience. I am looking forward to next year's meeting already!

- Connie

On Tuesday, the rescue team responded to a live dolphin. At around 4:30pm, Adam received a report of an animal, what was originally believed to be a harbor porpoise, swimming just off shore of Revere Beach. The description seemed to be the behavior of a porpoise feeding close to shore, which is normal for this species. While getting more information on the animal, it then beached itself.

WARNING: This post includes graphic photographs of a deceased pygmy sperm whale. This post may not be appropriate for everyone so please proceed with caution or skip this blog.

Hi all,
Deceased animals are a common part of our work in the Stranding Department. There are many reasons an animal may wash up dead or die on the beach. Natural causes such as old age, failure to thrive for a pup or a calf, disease, human interaction such as encounters with fishing materials or ship strikes, and predation by other marine species. This list is by no means complete, it is a short list to reinforce the concept that, like people, animals die too.

It is important to perform a necropsy (animal autopsy) on marine mammals and sea turtles to try to determine the cause of death. The longer the animal has been dead the more difficult this task becomes. As an authorized marine mammal responder on behalf of the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) we are obligated to collect a certain set of data depending on the condition of the animal when found.

So, on to the story of the pygmy sperm whale ... this animal was found dead in the surf in Winthrop, Mass. on Monday night. I'll start you off with a distant photo so you can test your stomach for this sort of thing.

In the image below, the Department of Conservation and Recreation relocates the animal to a beach were we can conduct a necropsy examination and then bury the animal deeper the 6 feet. Pygmy sperm whales, (Kogia breviceps) are fairly rare north of Cape Cod, however we do see them from time to time.
















Species identification, age class, gender, condition of the animal, and measurements are of the utmost importance. When this pygmy sperm whale washed ashore, it had been dead for a few days at least. Most of the skin was missing and the eyes were sunken in. With the skin missing, most of the obvious field markings were gone. To determine exact species of an animal in this condition it is best to look at the overall size, shape and location of the dorsal fin, shape of the mouth and the the shape, location and number of teeth. Pygmy sperm whales have a small narrow lower jaw with long sharp curved teeth located only in the lower jaw.


In this photo, I examine the teeth for shape size and location to confirm that this animal is a pygmy sperm whale. Pygmy sperm whales can often be confused with dwarf sperm whales which, look almost exactly alike.


This photo shows the animal in the surf before we removed it from the water. As you can see most of the skin is missing with the exception of the long black patch. Note how far back the dorsal fin is located ont his animal, this is one of the distinguishing characteristics between the pygmy and dwarf sperm whales.

We completed a detailed external examination of the animal before we began the dissection or necropsy. We found a linear (straight line) scar (one of several). This is a sign that this animal had some sort of encounter with a made-made object. The technical term for this finding is called evidence of Human Interaction. 

I decided not to include any photos of this animal once we began making our cuts to enter the body cavity. I'll explain here that we examined all the organs and the tissues under all the scars. The dissection of this animal took several hours. While we had the help of three interns, Adam and I did all the cutting and organ examinations. We learned a great deal from this animal and wish to thank the animal control officer in Winthrop, all members of the harbor master's office in the town of Winthrop, the staff from the Department of Conservation and Recreation, and the Massachusetts Environmental Police for helping secure this animal and providing support for us to perform this important necropsy.

-Connie