EWS Update #5
01/02/97 - 01/11/97

        This belated update will cover 01/02/97 thru 01/11/97. The first two
weeks of January are usually the busiest of the calving season and the
only exception this year is that the weather has been even more fickle
than usual and our surveys have probably been less effective at
detecting all the whales in the EWS survey area. Still, we documented 14
sightings over the 10 day period with most of the whales being sighted
on two days (01/06, 01/11) when conditions were somewhat favorable for
doing what we do. The really good news is ...well, let's cover the bad
news first: 
        A calf right whale stranded dead on Flagler Beach, Fl and was reported
to the FL-DEP on the morning of 01/09/97. Bill Brooks and Blair Mase
quickly responded and made arrangements to get the calf off a piece of
beach which was particularly inaccessible to the equipment usually used
to move one-ton critters when they wash-up. After difficult and creative
coordination, a large boom-truck was positioned to hoist the animal over
the dunes and onto a trailer. It was then taken to Marineland where
space had generously been made available for a necropsy. All of this was
accomplished under a tornado watch and as violent thunderstorms barreled
through the area. At Marineland the calf was transferred to a
refrigerated tractor/trailer where it spent the night at 5  fahrenheit,
allowing time for Bob Bonde (Sirenian Lab- Gainesville, FL) to get a his
team together and obtain the assistance of  veterinary pathologist Dr.
Claus Buergelt (Univ. of Florida). We were also lucky enough to be
joined by Dr. Tom Lipscomb of the Armed Forces Institute of Pathology.
He flew from D.C. snow into Florida rain with only a few hours notice.
So on the morning of 01/10, the chilled calf was pulled from the trailer
and Bob & Co. went to work. 
        The calf was very young, 4.1 meters long, with foetal folds still
evident along its body. There were no outward signs of trauma. There was
no indication in the gastro-intestinal tract that the calf had ever
nursed (no milk) though there were a few small coqina shells in the
intestine indicating it may have gulped water containing suspended shell
fragments. Water conditions for such a scenario would be found in the
surf zone along Florida's  northeast coast. The lungs floated indicating
the calf probably took a few breaths before death. There were contusions
on the underside of the tongue and lower jaw which may have been
occurred during complications of the birthing process: a backward (head
first) entry into the world, in shallow water, or constriction in the
birth canal. At any rate, all indications at this time are that this was
a perinatal mortality. With the help of the pathologists we may learn
more..... 
        Back to the good news. These first days of January have brought the
influx of new mothers and calves that we've come to expect this time of
the year. Five new moms have been photographed this month, bringing the
total number of individual calves sighted this season to seven... at
least. Further photo-analyses needs to be done and comparisons need to
be made between our photos and those of other agencies conducting
surveys. Otherwise, all is well with EWS communications. Everything's
going good. If the weather ever stabilizes we may get a better handle on
what's out there. Thanks for your interest.

Chris Slay
Best regards from Lisa, she's out flying today.