Central PugetSound Marine Mammal Stranding Network

 Historic Orca Calf Remains are New Display for the Langley Whale Center

There was a very special addition to our Langley Whale Center last month- the partial skull of an orca calf. What makes this skull so special to all orca lovers on the island is its history.

   On August 8, 1970 entire families of orca were herded into Penn Cove by men intending to capture young calves for the marine park industry. During the brutal capture procedure several calves died. Their bodies were slit open, filled with rocks and sunk, hoping they would never be found. But months after the capture a partial skull of one of the calves washed up on the beach close to the capture site and was collected and stored by a Coupeville resident. This skull was donated to Orca Network, via a volunteer related to the person who found it, and it now is part of our NOAA Fisheries registered marine mammal specimen collection. After reconstruction by experts at the Burke Museum in Seattle, the skull was blessed during a healing ceremony on Penn Cove by Samish Tribal Elders for whom the orca is an integral part of their heritage. The orca calf skull, or remains, is now on display in a glass case in the Langley Whale Center with information about the Penn Cove orca captures, and will be surrounded by a dried seaweed wreath per instructions from the Samish Elders, to keep it connected to the ocean world.

   This new display is very timely, as our Langley Whale Center just moved to a larger building in early October, so we have 500 additional square feet of display space! Along with the orca calf skull, there will be two other fine new additions to the Whale Center now that we have moved to a larger venue: a 6 foot long gray whale skull and a 10 foot long fin whale skull are on their way.

   Thanks to your generous donations, the Langley Whale Center is quickly becoming a first class little museum and education center for marine mammals and is attracting thousands of visitors each year, educating them about the work being done by the Central Puget Sound Marine Mammal Stranding Network and Orca Network's other programs.

Harbor Porpoise Problems Continue

   Four recent necropsies of harbor porpoises have revealed infections, from possibly previously unknown organisms. One porpoise, in addition to exhibiting signs of gill net entanglement, was diagnosed with a protozoal infection, mostly consistent with toxoplasmosis. Additional testing is needed to further characterize the protozoan. Toxoplasmosis can infect humans and is found in uncooked meat, contaminated water and in cat feces (recall the warnings about being careful when cleaning out cat litter pans).

   A second porpoise died of an unidentified lung infection, plus had an infestation of nematodes (worms found in raw fish), and also many parasitic liver flukes.

   Two other porpoises exhibited a fungal infection believed to be caused by a member of the mucormycetes group – molds that live in the soil in decaying matter. They can cause infection through breathing in of their spores or entry through a break in the skin of both humans and marine mammals.

   Tissue samples have been sent to several laboratories for further, more specific, identification of the mold with no success. Our veterinarian, Dr. Stephanie Norman is in the process of obtaining a CITES* permit for submission of samples to a marine mammal Microbiologist expert in the UK for further identification. It is suspected that this mold may be a new species.

 Many thanks for your generous donations that help us to obtain  more information on what is causing these ever increasing illnesses in our beloved harbor porpoises in Puget Sound. The information learned from Harbor porpoise necropsies is also of importance to the health of endangered Southern Resident orcas in our region, one of NOAA's "Species in the Spotlight" (the most critically endangered species in the country). In fact, one of the recent orca deaths was contributed to the same fungal infection found in several porpoises we have necropsied. So continuing to investigate the health of porpoises will ultimately reveal key insights into the health of our endangered orcas as well.

* Convention of International Trade in Endangered Species 

Links:

• Central Puget Sound MMSN page on Orca Network website

Oh, So Cute!

We are in the middle of harbor seal pupping season in Central Puget Sound, and all around the Salish Sea. In comparing the number of calls received in previous years, it appears that we are consistent with an average of about 90 reports by this time through July. The phone calls and e mail reports are flooding in and we still have another several weeks until pups are weaned and strong enough to be on their own.

During these summer months it is a continuing effort to educate new residents and the thousands of tourists who have never seen a seal pup on the beach and are concerned about its welfare. We hand out flyers, write newspaper articles, share posts on social media and give talks on how to share the shore with seal pups and other marine mammals.                                                                                                                                                                         Rule #1: leave it alone!

Observe and take photos from afar. The beach is mom’s nursery for her baby while she is out at sea finding food so she can nurse the pup when she returns. This is normal behavior, and humans approaching too closely may disturb the pup and/or prevent the mom from returning, as adult seals are shy of people and often moms will usually wait until people leave the beach before returning to her pup.

What can we learn from a Harbor porpoise necropsy?                                                                                               or, More Porpoise Problems...

Last quarter we told you about a harbor porpoise that died of a suspected fungal infection. So far, tests have not been able to identify the causative agent, so more sophisticated, specific and costly tests will have to be employed to get the answers we need.

A more recent necropsy on a harbor porpoise showed evidence of human interaction, specifically a fisheries interaction. There were several lines and grooves in the skin indicating that the animal had at some time been caught in a fishing net. However, contributing to the demise of the animal was also a massive infection in his thoracic cavity suspected to be caused by a fungus or bacterium, so entanglement may have actually been a blessing for this unfortunate porpoise who was in very poor health.

A second adult male harbor porpoise had a large number of growths in the lungs and most of his left kidney was displaced by a huge nodular mass. The causative agent(s) are still to be identified, and further testing is ongoing.

Often we have to submit multiple samples to different labs, for a variety of tests, to try to solve the mystery of what caused a marine mammal's death. New, emerging diseases and pathogens are being identified, and the tests conducted provide data important to all marine mammal species. Thanks to your support, we are fortunate to work with Stephanie Norman, DVM, MS, PhD as our Marine Mammal Vet. Stephanie is not only an amazing veterinarian and source of knowledge, she is an excellent and patient teacher, teaching our staff and volunteers how to conduct a necropsy, collect samples, and attempt to determine cause of death for the stranded marine mammals we respond to. 

We are so appreciative of your support in helping us to identify what is killing these beautiful animals and sickening their ocean home, and often, the condition of these animals and their ocean habitat is a reflection of our own human population and the threats we are facing as well.

Thanks again for your ongoing support, to help us through each seal pup season, each necropsy, stranding response and educational activity, all on behalf of the beautiful beings of the Salish Sea.                                     We could not do it without your help!

Links:

• Seal pup poster
• Central Puget Sound Marine Mammal Stranding Network webpage
• Sharing the Shore with Seal pups, NOAA Fisheries publication