[NatureNS] Pygmy Sperm Whale washes up in Halifax Harbour

From: "Laurie Murison" <gmwhale@nbnet.nb.ca>
To: <naturens@chebucto.ns.ca>
References: <14F505682DE04FBB92EFF754F24AB335@nshealth.ca>
Date: Sat, 21 Mar 2015 09:27:32 -0300
Organization: GMWSRS
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Return-Path: <naturens-mml-owner@chebucto.ns.ca>
Original-Recipient: rfc822;"| (cd /csuite/info/Environment/FNSN/MList; /csuite/lib/arch2html)"

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I have pasted below what was posted on the MARS (Marine Animal Response =
Society) Facebook page:

On October 24th, 2014 a small whale was spotted swimming around the navy =
docks in Halifax. It was swimming very slowly, had blood trailing from =
its head and an had an injury to its tail fluke. The Marine Animal =
Response Society (MARS) and protection officers from the Department of =
Fisheries & Oceans (DFO) responded, however a thorough search of the =
area by boat failed to locate the animal.

On October 28th, the whale was found dead on McNabs Island in Halifax =
Harbour. It was identified as a pygmy sperm whale, an elusive, small =
whale not common in our waters. DFO towed the animal to the Bedford =
Institute of Oceanography, where it was frozen until a necropsy could be =
performed.=20

On March 12, 2015 the animal was taken to Dalhousie University where the =
necropsy was done. This was directed by a veterinary pathologist from =
UPEI, MARS response coordinators and faculty from Dalhousie University. =
It was also used for teaching both University of PEI veterinary students =
as well as Dalhousie marine biology students. Several injuries were =
documented on the throat and tail and it was considered in poor body =
condition. Sadly, several pieces of plastic as well as a long piece of =
plastic strapping were found lodged in its stomach. Although it was a =
sad outcome for this small whale, it provided a unique experience to =
students from both universities to learn about whale anatomy as well as =
the importance of conservation measures to protect whale species. The =
bones were donated to the Nova Scotia Museum of Natural History.

Laurie Murison
Grand Manan, NB


  ----- Original Message -----=20
  From: Dusan Soudek=20
  To: NatureNS=20
  Sent: Saturday, March 21, 2015 8:48 AM
  Subject: [NatureNS] Pygmy Sperm Whale washes up in Halifax Harbour


  A letter to the editor (=E2=80=9CLitter lethal to wildlife=E2=80=9D) =
in a recent issue of The Chronicle Herald (March 20) mentions that a =
dead Pygmy Right Whale washed up on McNabs Island recently, and that a =
necropsy revealed several plastic items in its stomach. They apparently =
caused its demise. Does anyone have more information on this incident? =
Has the species ID been confirmed?

  Dusan Soudek
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=EF=BB=BF<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN">
<HTML><HEAD>
<META content=3D"text/html; charset=3Dutf-8" http-equiv=3DContent-Type>
<META name=3DGENERATOR content=3D"MSHTML 8.00.6001.18928">
<STYLE></STYLE>
</HEAD>
<BODY dir=3Dltr bgColor=3D#ffffff>
<DIV><FONT size=3D2 face=3DArial>I have pasted below what was posted =
on&nbsp;the=20
MARS (Marine Animal Response Society) Facebook page:</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=3D2 face=3DArial></FONT>&nbsp;</DIV>
<DIV><FONT color=3D#0000ff>On October 24th, 2014 a small whale was =
spotted=20
swimming around the navy docks in Halifax. It was swimming very slowly, =
had=20
blood trailing from its head and an had an injury to its tail fluke. The =
Marine=20
Animal Response Society (MARS) and protection officers from the =
Department of=20
Fisheries &amp; Oceans (DFO) responded, however a thorough search of the =
area by=20
boat failed to locate the animal.<BR><BR>On October 28th, the whale was =
found=20
dead on McNabs Island in Halifax Harbour. It was identified as a pygmy =
sperm=20
whale, an elusive, small whale not common in our waters. DFO towed the =
animal to=20
the Bedford Institute of Oceanography, where it was frozen until a =
necropsy=20
could be performed. <BR><BR>On March 12, 2015 the animal was taken to =
Dalhousie=20
University where the necropsy was done. This was directed by a =
veterinary=20
pathologist from UPEI, MARS response coordinators and faculty from =
Dalhousie=20
University. It was also used for teaching both University of PEI =
veterinary=20
students as well as Dalhousie marine biology students. Several injuries =
were=20
documented on the throat and tail and it was considered in poor body =
condition.=20
Sadly, several pieces of plastic as well as a long piece of plastic =
strapping=20
were found lodged in its stomach. Although it was a sad outcome for this =
small=20
whale, it provided a unique experience to students from both =
universities to=20
learn about whale anatomy as well as the importance of conservation =
measures to=20
protect whale species. The bones were donated to the Nova Scotia Museum =
of=20
Natural History.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT color=3D#0000ff></FONT>&nbsp;</DIV>
<DIV><FONT color=3D#0000ff><FONT color=3D#000000 size=3D2 =
face=3DArial>Laurie=20
Murison</FONT></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT color=3D#0000ff><FONT color=3D#000000 size=3D2 =
face=3DArial>Grand Manan,=20
NB</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><BR></DIV></FONT>
<BLOCKQUOTE=20
style=3D"BORDER-LEFT: #000000 2px solid; PADDING-LEFT: 5px; =
PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px"=20
dir=3Dltr>
  <DIV style=3D"FONT: 10pt arial">----- Original Message ----- </DIV>
  <DIV=20
  style=3D"FONT: 10pt arial; BACKGROUND: #e4e4e4; font-color: =
black"><B>From:</B>=20
  <A title=3Dsoudekd@ns.sympatico.ca =
href=3D"mailto:soudekd@ns.sympatico.ca">Dusan=20
  Soudek</A> </DIV>
  <DIV style=3D"FONT: 10pt arial"><B>To:</B> <A =
title=3Dnaturens@chebucto.ns.ca=20
  href=3D"mailto:naturens@chebucto.ns.ca">NatureNS</A> </DIV>
  <DIV style=3D"FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Sent:</B> Saturday, March 21, 2015 =
8:48=20
  AM</DIV>
  <DIV style=3D"FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Subject:</B> [NatureNS] Pygmy Sperm =
Whale=20
  washes up in Halifax Harbour</DIV>
  <DIV><BR></DIV>
  <DIV dir=3Dltr>
  <DIV style=3D"FONT-FAMILY: 'Calibri'; COLOR: #000000; FONT-SIZE: =
12pt">
  <DIV>A letter to the editor (=E2=80=9CLitter lethal to =
wildlife=E2=80=9D) in a recent issue of=20
  The Chronicle Herald (March 20) mentions that a dead Pygmy Right Whale =
washed=20
  up on McNabs Island recently, and that a necropsy revealed several =
plastic=20
  items in its stomach. They apparently caused its demise. Does anyone =
have more=20
  information on this incident? Has the species ID been confirmed?</DIV>
  <DIV>&nbsp;</DIV>
  <DIV>Dusan Soudek</DIV></DIV></DIV></BLOCKQUOTE></BODY></HTML>

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