False killer whale had bacterial infection: Vancouver Aquarium

VANCOUVER — The Vancouver Aquarium says preliminary results from a necropsy show a false killer whale that died at the facility on Nov. 24 had a bacterial infection.

A statement from the aquarium Friday said it appears Chester, the three-year-old false killer whale, died of erysipelas, an illness veterinarian Dr. Martin Haulena said has resulted in the deaths of wild cetaceans and those in human care.

Haulena said it is the first known case of the disease at the aquarium.

He said Helen, a Pacific white-sided dolphin who shared a pool with Chester, is being treated with antibiotics.

Chester was brought to the aquarium when he was just a few weeks old, after being found stranded on a Tofino beach in July 2014.

The aquarium said the false killer whale, a member of the dolphin family, remained a “health-challenged animal” throughout his life.

Chester’s death leaves Helen as the aquarium’s only remaining cetacean, and the statement says options to find a companion for her are limited by a Vancouver Park Board bylaw barring the acquisition of new whales, dolphins or porpoises.

The ban was imposed in May, months after two beluga whales died nine days apart from what officials said was a mysterious illness.

In June, a nine-year-old rescued harbour porpoise named Daisy also died. Preliminary necropsy results showed pulmonary disease.