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Mysterious deaths of the southern right whale calves at Argentina |
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by Arushi Madan | 18-06-2013 17:49
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The southern right whales that use Península Valdés, Argentina as a nursery ground have suffered the largest mortality event ever recorded. At least 605 right whales have died along the Argentine coast since 2003, including 538 newborn calves. One hundred and thirteen calves died in 2012 alone. The Southern Right Whale Health Monitoring Program is working with scientists worldwide to determine why the whales are dying, but as yet, a common cause remains to be found. ?In 2012 Peninsula lost nearly one third of all calves born at the Peninsula?. There is a concern about the reduction in their population growth rate. In 2010, International Whaling Commission organized a workshop in Puerto Madryn, Argentina to analyze the right whale die-offs at Península Valdés. Based on discussions of existing evidence, experts from around the world concluded that the three most likely causes of mortality could include malnutrition, infectious disease and biotoxins. Last week, scientific experts met at a workshop during the 44th Annual Conference of the International Association for Aquatic Animal Medicine (IAAAM) in California, to analyze the new findings of this puzzling whale die-off. Discussions at the workshop also focused on a very unusual biological phenomenon. At Península Valdés, kelp gulls land on the backs of southern right whales to eat their skin and blubber. Rowntree and Sironi have studied the frequency of gull attacks every year since 1995. ?The attacks are very painful and cause large, deep lesions, particularly on the backs of young 2-6 week-old calves. The whales flinch violently and swim away to flee from the attacking gulls,? the researchers explain. ?This harassment can last for hours at a time. As a result, right whale mothers and their calves are expending much precious energy during a time-of-year when mothers are fasting and at a site where little to no food is available to replenish fat reserves. The gull harassment and the extensive wounds they make must have a very negative effect on the health and body condition of these whales and is certainly very stressful.? The past seven years of consistently high mortality of right whales at Península Valdés cannot be ignored. It is of critical importance to continue current research and monitoring efforts to find out why so many right whale calves are dying, and what can be done to curb th |
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9 Comments
Hello arushi
I hope you are doing well
Very sad. Need actions in time
Thank you so much for this wonderful report.
Keep writing!
Regards
Asmita Gaire
Posted 16-05-2020 11:41
thanks for the nice report
Posted 25-06-2013 22:13
Very unfortunate, Arushi.
Posted 22-06-2013 20:47
thanks for the information
Posted 19-06-2013 08:50
Thanks Raunak.
Posted 19-06-2013 04:27
sad , they need proper actions now!
Posted 18-06-2013 22:51
Thanks for sharing this informative though sad news. Indeed we should try our best to ensure that all living beings have a right to coexist.
Posted 18-06-2013 19:22
Btw nice sharng
Posted 18-06-2013 18:08
Quite sad.........we as environmentalists should take pledge to protect it
Posted 18-06-2013 18:07