Abstract
Clinical pathology results from 31 baleen whales that stranded in the United States between 1987 and 2022 were reviewed retrospectively, in conjunction with field reports, medical records, and necropsy findings. Although some published blood chemistry and hematology data exist for stranded small cetaceans1-4 and from single-animal case studies for rehabilitated or out-of-habitat mysticetes,5,6 no clinical pathology information has yet been collated for stranded large whales. This study comprises thirteen minke whales (Balaenoptera acutorostrata), eight humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae), two fin whales (Balaenoptera physalus), six gray whales (Eschrichtius robustus), one sei whale (Balaenoptera borealis), and one right whale (Eubalaena glacialis). Blood collection was completed antemortem in all but three cases; postmortem cases were analyzed separately. All but one of the subjects either died or were euthanized. The surviving animal, a minke whale, was satellite tagged and considered a successful release with 83 days of data transmission.7 Hematologic and serum biochemical profiles include those from both off-site diagnostic laboratories and on-site analyzers. The most significant finding was a marked elevation in serum creatinine in several of the stranded minke whales. Other derangements included anemia, elevations in creatine kinase, and hyper- and hypoglycemia. Besides four animals with evidence of human interaction as a proximate cause of stranding, most of the subjects appeared to have succumbed to infectious disease or stranded following maternal separation. This retrospective analysis is the first for a group of stranded baleen whales and provides the beginnings of a database for such patients.
*Presenting author
Literature Cited
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