A Beaked Whale Stranded in Tai O, Hong Kong, Died! Injection of Anesthetic May be the Cause of Death | CBCGDF BASE

The editor of OceanWetlands noticed that according to Hong Kong media reports, on November 30, 2024, a whale about five to six meters long was stranded in the waters of Tai O, Hong Kong. This incident quickly attracted public attention.

 


 

Tai O is a traditional fishing village. When the whale was found, it was struggling in the shallow water one or two meters near the shore, and multiple wounds on its back were bleeding. Some local citizens and fishermen immediately jumped into the water and tried to push it back to deep water, but the whale was seriously injured and ultimately failed to swim back.

 

It is reported that after receiving report, the Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department of Special Administrative Region immediately launched a rescue operation and quickly contacted the veterinarian of Hong Kong Ocean Park to go to the scene. Preliminary examination found that the whale was in very weak physical condition and had suffered multiple injuries.

 

For a more detailed diagnosis, the veterinarian injected it with anesthetic, but the whale's condition deteriorated sharply during the diagnosis process, and it eventually died at 0:00 am on December 1, 2024.

 

The body of the whale was immediately transported to the Shek Pik Management Station on Lantau Island, where experts plan to further determine the cause of its death through dissection. This move is not only to restore the truth of the stranding incident, but also to provide important basis for studying the living habits and survival conditions of this marine creature.

 

According to preliminary judgment by experts, this whale may be a rare Indo-Pacific beaked whale. There are very few sightings of this whale worldwide, let alone in Hong Kong waters.

 

There are still many different opinions about the cause of the stranding. At present, media reports mentioned that some experts speculated that the whale may have lost its way during migration, or it may have been physically exhausted after being injured, leading to stranding. In addition, human activities that interfere with the marine environment are also believed to be a factor that may affect its behavior. The source of the whale's multiple wounds is still unclear. It may be caused by conflicts with other creatures or abrasions when it was trapped in the shallows.

 

After learning about the Tai O whale stranding incident, Professor John MK Wong, a marine biologist and cetacean expert in Hong Kong, analyzed the relevant reports. Regarding the rescue method, Prof. John MK Wong put forward some different views. He believes that injecting anesthetics or sedatives into the already weak whale is not appropriate and may even accelerate its death. He explained that such a whale is already in an extremely weak state and its body function is already very poor. Anesthesia may put its body under greater pressure. He suggested that anesthetics must not be used in the handling of such incidents; the whale can be directly transferred to the pool of Hong Kong Ocean Park. In the pool, keep the whale afloat, treat its wounds, and create a quiet and comfortable environment for it. At the same time, it can be fed some fish or thick milk powder to supplement its nutrition, help it recover. Perhaps this way the whale has the possibility of slowly recovering.

 

The death of the whale is also a heavy price paid by the natural ecology. We still need to accumulate more scientific knowledge and experience in rescuing large marine mammals such as whales," said relevant experts. The China Biodiversity Conservation and Green Development Foundation (CBCGDF) BASE has been trying to send experts to participate in the study of the cause of whale’s death.

 

Original Chinese Article: https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/1ZhdwA7u0QdXsLqd1VFT7w

Translator: Sara

Reviewed by: Daisy

Editor: Sara    

Contact: v10@cbcgdf.org; +8617319454776






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