**** Info via MARS
Last Thursday, MARS along with colleagues from the Canadian Wildlife Health Cooperative – Atlantic Veterinary College – AVC, and with the support of the Nova Scotia Department of Natural Resources and Renewables, conducted a necropsy of the sperm whale which came ashore alive and subsequently died the previous week.
The findings were very upsetting – the death of this 45’ male was attributed to a massive ingestion of fishing gear which led to emaciation and subsequent stranding.
Shockingly, there was 330lbs of gear compacted into the animal’s stomach!
At this point, we do not know the type or origin of the gear, nor where or when the animal would have ingested it. What we do know without a doubt, is that it caused the animal to slowly starve to death.
This is a stark reminder of the serious issue with garbage and other plastics in our oceans, including lost, derelict, and discarded fishing gear.
This also highlights the importance of conducting necropsies on all species, so we can better understand natural and human-caused impacts to these animals.
We’d like to extend our sincere thanks to everyone who helped us conduct this heartbreaking necropsy, especially Dana Burns with Norvon Enterprises Ltd., the MacEachern’s who provided access to the animal via their property and all the preparatory and onsite support by the staff of DNRR who assisted with the necropsy.
