Saturday, December 1, 2007
Another dead blue whale has been found in Southern California. The whale, which washed up on San Miguel Island, is an approximately 70 foot long adult female. A dead fetus was also found beside her on the beach. The Marine Mammal Center’s Dr. Frances Gulland examined the whale on Saturday, December 1, along with the National Park Service and a crew from the Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History. Due to high surf, the crew was unable to perform an extensive necropsy; however, Dr. Gulland observed what appears to be a propeller wound to the animal’s right flipper. She and her fetus were likely victims of another boat strike in the Santa Barbara Channel.
Tuesday, September 25, 2007
The Center’s Director of Veterinary Medicine, Dr. Frances Gulland, assisted a veterinarian from Sea World and a team from The Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History in performing a necropsy Saturday, September 22, 2007, on the third blue whale that stranded in Southern California. The examination of this whale revealed that it was also the victim of a ship strike. Dr. Gulland reports that it was a 66 foot male with massive fractures, a hemorrhage along its left side, and a broken back. The whale’s death marks a string of blue whale deaths within 13 days, and according to Dr. Gulland, “may be an indicator of an unusual mortality event”. Scientists are now studying a hypothesis that the whales may have become disoriented by an illness or toxic algae, preventing their effective response to approaching vessels.
Friday, September 21, 2007
A Third Dead Blue Whale Spotted Floating in the Santa Barbara Channel
A week after a blue whale carcass was discovered floating in Ventura County and another in Long Beach Harbor, The Marine Mammal Center’s, Director of Veterinary Science, Dr. Frances Gulland, traveled back to Southern California to look at the latest blue whale carcass which was spotted on September 20. Plans to bring the 70 foot male whale ashore began today. According to Michelle Berman with the Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History (SBMNH), a team will be assembled Saturday morning to bring the whale ashore near a Naval Base. As of around 1:15 PM today SBMNH reports that the carcass was floating south of Platform Grace.
A total of three blue whales have floated ashore in Southern California within the past two weeks. Two were believed to have been struck by ships. It is not known yet if this latest carcass suffered a similar fate. Dr. Gulland and other biologists plan on examining whale to determine if it may have been disoriented by some sort of illness. The appearance of these three whale carcasses within such a short time period and within the same geographic region is highly unusual and may be an indicator of an unusual mortality event. According to the SBMNH website, since 1980, only six blue whales have stranded in this area.
To learn more about blue whales click here.
A Very Big Job
 On Friday, September 14, 2007, The Marine Mammal Center’s Dr. Frances Gulland, a leading expert on cetacean medicine, assisted with the examination of a dead blue whale that had washed ashore in Ventura County. The blue whale she encountered, at 72 feet long and an estimated 158,000 lbs, was a spectacular specimen of the largest mammal species on the planet. After climbing atop the whale and examining its injuries, a team from the Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History and the Channel Islands Marine Wildlife Institute and Dr. Gulland determined that the whale had most likely been struck by a ship, based on a large bruise she discovered under the blubber. Once hunted to near extinction, a practice which was banned by The International Whaling Commission in the 1960s, the blue whale population now remains at only 1% of its original numbers and is on the endangered species list. The whale’s skull will be transferred to the Natural History Museum in Santa Barbara for education purposes. The story was reported by various news media, including the L.A. Times.
Click here for photos by June Padilla. |
Blue Whales 