1. Whale rescue dilemma

2. Cetaceans Descendants of land-living mammals Related to hoofed animals
Entered the water roughly 50 million years ago

3. Order: Cetacea Suborder Mysticeti: baleen whales
Family Balaenidae: Right Whales
Family Balaenopteridae: Rorquals
Family Eschrichtiidae: Gray Whale
Family Neobalaenidae: Pygmy Right Whale
Suborder Odontoceti: toothed whales
Family Delphinidae: oceanic dolphins
Family Monodontidae: Narwhal and Beluga
Family Phocoenidae: Porpoises
Family Physeteridae: Sperm Whale
Family Kogiidae: Dwarf and Pygmy Sperm Whales
Family Ziphidae: Beaked Whales
Superfamily Platanistoidea: river dolphins
Family Iniidae: Boto
Family Lipotidae: Baiji
Family Platanistidae: Ganges and Indus River Dolphin
Family Pontoporiidae: La Plata River Dolphin

4. Order: Cetacea Suborder Mysticeti: baleen whales
Family Balaenidae: Right Whales
Family Balaenopteridae: Rorquals
Family Eschrichtiidae: Gray Whale
Family Neobalaenidae: Pygmy Right Whale
Suborder Odontoceti: toothed whales
Family Delphinidae: oceanic dolphins
Family Monodontidae: Narwhal and Beluga
Family Phocoenidae: Porpoises
Family Physeteridae: Sperm Whale
Family Kogiidae: Dwarf and Pygmy Sperm Whales
Family Ziphidae: Beaked Whales
Superfamily Platanistoidea: river dolphins
Family Iniidae: Boto
Family Lipotidae: Baiji
Family Platanistidae: Ganges and Indus River Dolphin
Family Pontoporiidae: La Plata River Dolphin

5. Pilot Whales 3.5 to 5 m long, 1.5 and 3 tons, for female and male
Males live for about 45 years and female about 60 years
Polygamous
Very social, family animals
May travel in groups of up to 100, one animal acting as leader
World population is unknown (at least few 100,000)
Feed on squids and fish
Feeding dives may last for 10 minutes or more
Can dive to depths of 600m but most dives are m

6. Distribution of Pilot whales
Green: Long-finned - Blue: Short-finned

7. Distribution of Long-finned Pilot Whales
Globicephala melas

8. Stranding of Long-finned Pilot Whales

9. Stranding in Tasmania - 2003
Over 100 pilot whales
Very few rescued
Photos: The Age

10. Difficult to rescue Skin needs to be maintained wet Heavy
Cannot be towed
They beached themselves again & again

11. Dilemma
What would you do?
- do nothing
- euthanise the whales
- try to save them
Which animals would you save first?
- adult male - adult female
- pregnant
- young

12. For DNA parenting, recording Understand the cause of stranding
Scientific interest
Blood samples
Tissue samples
For DNA parenting, recording
Understand the cause of stranding
Would you agree for the scientists to take samples from all the whales?

13. Whaling Pilot Whales have also been hunted for many centuries
In the mid-1980s: 2,300 animals killed annually
By the 1990s: Decrease to about 400/year

14. Make use of the animals? Limited success of the rescue Whalers
Euthanasia
Process of meat and fat
Money to finance the rescue
Would you agree for the company to euthanise the remaining whales and process them?

15. Possible explanations for stranding
Sick or infested with parasites
“Internal compass” may be malfunctioning due to pollutants or naturally occurring ionic minerals in the water.
Simply be confused
Leader beached itself and all the pod follows
accidental or a purposeful effort on the part of the whales?
Whales (as well as birds, lobsters, and even humans) possess small amounts of a metal called "magnetite" in their brains and magnetite is affected by magnetic fields. Thus magnetite serves as a natural compass that "reads" the magnetic field of the Earth and allows animals to navigate across vast areas of feature-less sea in the same way that mariners use the compass on board a ship. Man-made pollutants as well as naturally occurring ionic minerals dissolved in sea water may alter small regions of the Earth's magnetic field and cause these whales to veer off in a "wrong" direction that sends them towards dry land. Even after the whales are pushed back out to sea by well-meaning humans, they still are unable to overcome the urge to follow their internal compass and re-beach themselves... often with fatal consequences. (3) Finally, Whales

16. Human responsibility?

17. The leader strands itself and all members of the pod follow
Scenario 1
“Internal compass” may be malfunctioning due to sonar testing by the Navy
The leader strands itself and all members of the pod follow
If you knew that the whales beached themselves because of human activities, would you have taken the same decision?

18. Scenario 2 Genetic defect leading to heart defect
The leader strands itself and all members of the pod follow
If you knew that the whales beached themselves because of a genetic defect and following a natural process, would you have taken the same decision?

19. Blue whales Balaenoptera musculus
Listed as Endangered on IUCN Red list
Adult size: m
Adult weight up to 136 tons
Photo: Univ. Texas
Photo: NOAA Yr. of the Ocean

20. Distribution of Blue whales

21. Stranding of Blue Whales

22. Scenario A Blue whale is seen off Tasmania
Wounded after being attacked by a killer whale
- its natural predator
Listed as Endangered on the IUCN red list
What would you do?
do nothing
euthanise the whale
try to save it