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TimRuns
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Joined: 11 May 2003
Posts: 10062
Location: Coquitlam, British Columbia
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 Posted: 06/08/06 - 12:25 Post subject: Stillborn Dolphin
Over the past few days, Vancouver Aquarium staff and volunteers (I volunteer there) were hyped up over the fact that one of their Pacific White-sided dolphins (Hanna) was pregnant. Yesterday she went into labor and one could see the tail of her calf sticking out of her (I heard that in marine mammals, labor can take up to 24 hrs  ). Unfortunately from the news today, the calf was a stillborn (11 kg)..very sad but hopefully the staff will be able to figure out why... 
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rolling rock
The Pinball
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Posted: 06/08/06 - 12:28 Post subject:
i'm sure the momma is
poor hanna.
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akern
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Joined: 31 May 2002
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Posted: 06/08/06 - 12:28 Post subject:
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JACKED UP
PRESIDENT
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Joined: 06 Jun 2003
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Location: www.johnnydu.com
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Posted: 06/08/06 - 12:38 Post subject:
How sad. Do they usually come out tail first?
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karlene
Canadian Bacon
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Posted: 06/08/06 - 13:03 Post subject:
poor thing
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airehead
Oompa Loofah
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Location: Between here and eternity...
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Posted: 06/08/06 - 16:41 Post subject:
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HYPERASHEL
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Location: The South's Sauna, Atlanta
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Posted: 06/09/06 - 06:40 Post subject:
| JACKED UP wrote: | | How sad. Do they usually come out tail first? |
YES, so that they don't drown during birth.
Poor Hanna i know she's gotta be sad.
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TimRuns
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Location: Coquitlam, British Columbia
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Posted: 06/09/06 - 12:10 Post subject:
That was actually Hana's first time giving birth. This was from my email yesterday:
As you are probably all now aware Hana gave birth to a stillborn calf last night at about 7:30 p.m. We are relatively certain that Hana, at an estimated age of 11, was a first time mother
The exact date of conception is unknown and so there was a fairly wide window of time in which it was anticipated that Hana would give birth, anywhere from early June through August. When Hana's appetite dropped a little this last Tuesday marine mammal staff monitored her behaviour through the night but it was not until Wednesday morning that there was further indication that a birth might be imminent.
Hana was moved from the medical pool to the large holding pool in an attempt to facilitate the birthing process. After several hours it became apparent that there was little or no progress. At this point Dr. Haulena determined that it was important to examine Hana to ensure that her health was not in jeopardy.
Marine mammal, engineering, grounds and aquarist staff members all worked together in an exemplary fashion using a net to create a curtain wall to corral Hana into an area where she could be returned to the medical pool. The operation was smooth and uneventful.
Dr. Haulena then conducted an exam using ultrasound to locate the unborn calf. The calf was still very high in the abdomen and appeared to not be moving or have a heartbeat. The length of time that had passed and the situation of the unborn calf caused concern for the medical team and a course of action was taken to assist Hana with the use of medication to induce the birth.
Hana progressed slowly and steadily through the course of the day resulting in a calf being delivered by her in the early evening. After the birth, the calf was recovered by marine mammal staff, Hana remained close and attentive whilst Dr. Haulena conducted an examination of the calf in the water. The calf was pronounced dead and gently removed from the pool. Shortly after, Hana came up to the trainers to interact and ate very well.
Hana looks to be in good health but is still under 24-hour watch and will rejoin Helen when she has been given time to rest and Dr. Haulena believes that she is fit.
It was a long day for all involved and I would especially like to thank the fantastic team effort that was put forth by the entire Aquarium. I spent most of my time poolside and would like to recognize the individual efforts of everyone involved, in particular Dr. Marty Haulena, his medical team and the indispensable voluntary services of Dr. David Huff; Brian Sheehan and the entire marine mammal crew; Kent and the engineers; Danny and the aquarist dive team; Hank Schaafsma and the entire grounds crew; Brenda Jones and Sondi Bruner; John Nightingale; and Neil Fisher. However, I know that there were tremendous efforts going on elsewhere with Diane, Scott and the Admissions team, and Andrea and the interpreters dealing with all the guests questions. Thank you all and anyone else I missed.
I expect that we will gain a better understanding of what happened as results from the various labs come back over the next few weeks. First time dolphin mothers often have problems. This is also true in those populations that have been studied in the wild -- in some cases calf mortality rate can be as high as 40 - 50%. This doesn't make the events of yesterday any easier to accept but does place it in perspective. We will keep you updated on Hana's progress.
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airehead
Oompa Loofah
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Joined: 12 Nov 2002
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Location: Between here and eternity...
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Posted: 06/09/06 - 12:54 Post subject:
She's right. It doesn't make it any easier to accept.
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