Hunt on for Moby bones
Indali saved from killer virus at zoo
A STATELY home has appealed for people to return bones from a whale skeleton described in the classic novel Moby Dick.
Burton Constable Hall, East Yorks, has displayed the 48ft bull sperm whale since the 1830s after it washed up nearby.
But over the decades souvenir hunters have been helping themselves.
Curator Philippa Wood said: “We’d like to try and rejoin missing bones with the rest of the skeleton.” Indali frolicking in water With the herd A BABY elephant splashes happily in a fountain after vets saved its life from a virus which has no cure.
And they now hope two-year-old Indali Hi Way’s full recovery could help more of the endangered animals.
The Asian elephant calf, housed at Chester Zoo, had endotheliotropic herpesvirus – which has killed four of the beasts there in the past four years.
Indali was diagnosed in March. There is no vaccine against the disease but vets started two weeks of intensive treatment, which included blood plasma transfusions, interferon therapy, and anti-viral medications.
The zoo’s chief executive officer Dr Mark Pilgrim said: “Indali’s recovery is a major milestone for conservation. Only two years ago, the global search for a Vets treating the stricken calf solution to the EEHV crisis looked unlikely to bear fruit. Now, there is light at the end of the tunnel. This brings us closer to the development of a vaccine.”
Falko Steinbach, professor of veterinary immunology at University of Surrey, added: “A lot remains unknown about EEHV. But with fewer than 50,000 Asian elephants left in the wild it is important that we find answers. Indali’s recovery is wonderful news.”
The virus attacks membranes, rapidly causing fever and bleeding.