Mar 2, 2008 8:45 am US/Eastern
Stranded Pygmy Sperm Whale Died Of Heart Failure
KEY LARGO (CBS4) ―
"Gauge" the pygmy sperm whale, which died Wednesday several days after becoming stranded off the Florida Keys, had a bad heart.
Preliminary results of a necropsy indicate the mammal died of heart failure, according to marine mammal experts.
The 10 1/2-foot male whale, weighed 985 pounds, and was discovered by a fisherman early Feb. 23 stranded in shallow ocean waters off the upper Florida Keys. Hours later it was transported to the Marine Mammal Conservancy in Key Largo for treatment, but unexpectedly died Wednesday right before it was to undergo an endoscopy.
"When you look at fluid backed up in the lung and into the liver, it tells you it's congestive heart failure, said Robert Lingenfelser, president of the Conservancy who assisted the necropsy led by a pathologist at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Marine Fisheries Service laboratory in Miami.
A final report is to be issued within three months, Lingenfelser said.
"It is extremely common for pygmy sperm whales to succumb to heart disease," said Blair Mase, southeast regional stranding coordinator for NOAA Fisheries.
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