Jun 22, 2008 9:14 am US/Eastern
Navy Conducts Tests On Rare Whale In Key Largo
Marine Mammal Conservancy In Key Largo Administering Fluids Every Four Hours Via A Tube To Its Stomach
ISLAMORADA (CBS4) ―
A team of U.S. Navy audiologists has tested a rare Gervais' beaked whale's hearing as it continues to recover at a marine mammal rehabilitation center in the Florida Keys.
"As far as I know, Navy audiologists have never had an opportunity to establish a hearing baseline on Gervais' beaked whales in their efforts to study effects of submarine sonar on marine mammals," said Robert Lingenfelser, president of the Marine Mammal Conservancy,
According to the Marine Mammal Conservancy, the whale is rarely spotted in our waters. Often times it's known for stranding itself off the coast of North America.
The whale was discovered early Friday morning by an Islamorada resident who saw the animal floundering in shallow waters behind her home, across the street from the Coral Bay Resort.
The whale's length is estimated at about 14 feet and its weight about 1,200 pounds, according to Dr. Jana Fly, director of veterinary medicine for the Conservancy.
"It appears to be an older animal, "Fly said. "There is weight loss and it appears to be mildly dehydrated."
Fly said the animal was in stable condition, but did not know the exact cause of the stranding.
It was transferred to the Conservancy in Key Largo for rehabilitation, and in the meantime volunteers are trying to run a series of tests and learn as much as they can about it, as they often die shortly after stranding themselves.
"We know next to nothing about this species," said Dr. Robert Lingenfelser, director of the MMC.
According to the website, Marinebio.org, Gervais' beaked whales are found in the North Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico from Texas and Florida to New York, Ireland, the English Channel, Canary Islands, south to Jamaica, Curaçao, Trinidad, Ascension Island, Mauritania, and Guinea Bissau. The rare whale is difficult to spot. They're assumed to be deep divers that live in small groups or pairs.
In February, the Marine Mammal Conservancy tried to rehabilitate a stranded pygmy sperm whale called "Gauge" but he died several days after becoming stranded off the Florida Keys.
Preliminary results of a necropsy indicated the mammal died of heart failure, according to marine mammal experts.
"Gauge" was a 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.
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