Welcome to DU!
The truly grassroots left-of-center political community where regular people, not algorithms, drive the discussions and set the standards.
Join the community:
Create a free account
Support DU (and get rid of ads!):
Become a Star Member
Latest Breaking News
General Discussion
The DU Lounge
All Forums
Issue Forums
Culture Forums
Alliance Forums
Region Forums
Support Forums
Help & Search
Researchers make plans to assess ailing orcas during government shutdown
Government shutdown or not, experts are looking to help monitor the health of ailing southern resident orcas that appear malnourished.
Marine mammal biologists, veterinarians and other experts on Tuesday confirmed a plan to start taking minimal steps to assess the health conditions of J17 and K25, according to a report from the Puget Sound Institute. Both the orcas have been sick for a little while now, and at least one researcher believes they might be dying.
The first actions they plan to take are to collect breath and fecal samples from the whales (likely other orcas as well), by following closely and scooping up fecal matter into a net.
Aerial images of K25 from September 2018 revealed the orca to be noticeably thinner than he had been two year prior, and he hasn't shown improvement yet. Photos taken of J17 on New Year's Eve also showed that the 42-year-old whale has what's known as "peanut head," a depression at the base of her skull that can indicate severe fat loss and malnutrition.
https://www.seattlepi.com/local/environment/article/Orca-j17-k25-treatment-sick-southern-residents-13559292.php?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=dailynewsletterspi&utm_term=spi
