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Whale rescue dilemma

Whale rescue dilemma. Cetaceans. Descendants of land-living mammals Related to hoofed animals Entered the water roughly 50 million years ago. Order: Cetacea. Suborder Mysticeti: baleen whales Family Balaenidae: Right Whales Family Balaenopteridae: Rorquals

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Whale rescue dilemma

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  1. Whale rescue dilemma

  2. Cetaceans Descendants of land-living mammals Related to hoofed animals Entered the water roughly 50 million years ago

  3. Order: Cetacea • Suborder Mysticeti: baleen whales • Family Balaenidae: Right Whales • Family Balaenopteridae: Rorquals • Family Eschrichtiidae: Gray Whale • Family Neobalaenidae: Pygmy Right Whale • Suborder Odontoceti: toothed whales • Family Delphinidae:oceanic dolphins • Family Monodontidae: Narwhal and Beluga • Family Phocoenidae: Porpoises • Family Physeteridae: Sperm Whale • Family Kogiidae: Dwarf and Pygmy Sperm Whales • Family Ziphidae: Beaked Whales • Superfamily Platanistoidea: river dolphins • Family Iniidae: Boto • Family Lipotidae: Baiji • Family Platanistidae: Ganges and Indus River Dolphin • Family Pontoporiidae: La Plata River Dolphin

  4. Order: Cetacea • Suborder Mysticeti: baleen whales • Family Balaenidae: Right Whales • Family Balaenopteridae: Rorquals • Family Eschrichtiidae: Gray Whale • Family Neobalaenidae: Pygmy Right Whale • Suborder Odontoceti: toothed whales • Family Delphinidae: oceanic dolphins • Family Monodontidae: Narwhal and Beluga • Family Phocoenidae: Porpoises • Family Physeteridae: Sperm Whale • Family Kogiidae: Dwarf and Pygmy Sperm Whales • Family Ziphidae: Beaked Whales • Superfamily Platanistoidea: river dolphins • Family Iniidae: Boto • Family Lipotidae: Baiji • Family Platanistidae: Ganges and Indus River Dolphin • Family Pontoporiidae: La Plata River Dolphin

  5. Pilot Whales • 3.5 to 5 m long, 1.5 and 3 tons, for female and male • Males live for about 45 years and female about 60 years • Polygamous • Very social, family animals • May travel in groups of up to 100, one animal acting as leader • World population is unknown (at least few 100,000) • Feed on squids and fish • Feeding dives may last for 10 minutes or more • Can dive to depths of 600m but most dives are 30 - 60m

  6. Distribution of Pilot whales Green: Long-finned - Blue: Short-finned

  7. Distribution of Long-finned Pilot Whales Globicephala melas http://www.environment.gov.au/cgi-bin/sprat/public/publicspecies.pl?taxon_id=59282

  8. Stranding of Long-finned Pilot Whales http://aadc-maps.aad.gov.au/aadc/whales/species_sightings.cfm?taxon_id=59282

  9. Stranding in Tasmania - 2003 • Over 100 pilot whales • Very few rescued Photos: The Age

  10. Difficult to rescue • Skin needs to be maintained wet • Heavy • Cannot be towed • They beached themselves again & again

  11. Dilemma • What would you do? • - do nothing • - euthanise the whales • - try to save them • Which animals would you save first? • - adult male - adult female • - pregnant • - young

  12. Scientific interest • Blood samples • Tissue samples • For DNA parenting, recording • Understand the cause of stranding Would you agree for the scientists to take samples from all the whales?

  13. Whaling • Pilot Whales have also been hunted for many centuries • In the mid-1980s: 2,300 animals killed annually • By the 1990s:Decrease to about 400/year

  14. Make use of the animals? • Limited success of the rescue • Whalers • Euthanasia • Process of meat and fat • Money to finance the rescue Would you agree for the company to euthanise the remaining whales and process them?

  15. Possible explanations for stranding • Sick or infested with parasites • “Internal compass” may be malfunctioning due to pollutants or naturally occurring ionic minerals in the water. • Simply be confused • Leader beached itself and all the pod follows • accidental or a purposeful effort on the part of the whales?

  16. Human responsibility?

  17. Scenario 1 “Internal compass” may be malfunctioning due to sonar testing by the Navy The leader strands itself and all members of the pod follow If you knew that the whales beached themselves because of human activities, would you have taken the same decision?

  18. Scenario 2 Genetic defect leading to heart defect The leader strands itself and all members of the pod follow If you knew that the whales beached themselves because of a genetic defect and following a natural process, would you have taken the same decision?

  19. Blue whales Balaenoptera musculus Listed as Endangered on IUCN Red list Adult size: 24-27 m Adult weight up to 136 tons Photo: Univ. Texas Photo: NOAA Yr. of the Ocean

  20. Distribution of Blue whales http://www.environment.gov.au/cgi-bin/sprat/public/publicspecies.pl?taxon_id=39

  21. Stranding of Blue Whales http://aadc-maps.aad.gov.au/aadc/whales/species_sightings.cfm?taxon_id=36

  22. Scenario • A Blue whale is seen off Tasmania • Wounded after being attacked by a killer whale • - its natural predator • Listed as Endangered on the IUCN red list • What would you do? • do nothing • euthanise the whale • try to save it

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