Conservation research kills endangered whale
Satellite tracker allowed fungus to enter bloodstream, resulting in deadly infection
The endangered killer whale was found dead off the coast of British Columbia on March 30, a month after researchers tagged it with a satellite tracker the size of a 9-volt battery.
The adult male they called L95 had been healthy then, swimming with its pod just north of the Columbia River. But its corpse was emaciated. A closer inspection showed signs of a fungal infection.
A necropsy and an ensuing review released on Thursday determined the exact cause of death, which could have a ripple effect on efforts to study the whales’ ecosystem and movements in the Pacific Ocean. The tracking dart provided a highway for the fungus to get into the whale’s bloodstream.
L95 was killed by scientists’ efforts to protect his species.
The review notes that the whale already had signs of a compromised immune system. Still, it says, “a fungal infection entered the animal’s bloodstream at the tagging site, and . . . this fungal infection contributed to the animal’s death.”
According to The Associated Press, the fungus may have been introduced by a contaminated tag. Or the two-inch darts on the prong may have brought fungi deeper when it struck near significant blood vessels. A first shot at the whale missed, and the tag fell into the sea, the AP reported. The darts may not have been properly sterilized when the tagger took aim again.
The satellite tagging program is suspended while the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) conducts its review, according to the AP.
“It’s devastating to think this could have happened,” Brad Hanson, the biologist who heads the orca tagging program, told the AP. He said he was in charge and “completely responsible” for not ensuring that the tag was properly sterilized. According to the NOAA, “the Southern Resident Killer Whale population is currently estimated at about 80 whales, a decline from its estimated historical level of about 200 during the late 1800s.”
L95’s death angered whale-protection activists who called the tagging program “barbaric and defective.”
“At least seven other satellite-tagged whales are still carrying hardware embedded in their tissues from the attachment fixtures,” wrote Kenneth Balcomb, a senior scientist of the Center for Whale Research. He said the whale was named Nigel.
“In my opinion, the tag attachment methodology was overly barbaric and defective from the get-go and the entire tagging program should be rethought and evaluated for efficacy,” Balcomb wrote.
The activists said scientists should use things such as underwater acoustic monitoring to track orcas.