Dr Paul Jepson of
the Institute of Zoology, the same vet who was at the centre of the efforts to
save the northern bottlenose whale, has released the preliminary results of
examinations carried out by his team on the body of the dead whale. The whale
died on the 21st January, following a number of days trapped in the Thames and
despite a rescue attempt to return it to its ocean home.
It is now
known that the whale was a juvenile female. More detailed investigations are
underway and it will be some weeks before examinations are fully completed. The
post-mortem results to date do not provide clues as to why the whale might have
been in the Thames in the first place but show evidence of stress and damage to
various organ systems and that the whale was suffering from dehydration.
"The mystery remains" said Mark Simmonds, WDCS's International Director of
Science, "whilst we need to appreciate that the detailed post-mortem tests will
continue for some time, the results thus far suggest that the whale had no
underpinning health problems when it entered the Thames. However, the Thames is
very far in geographical and biological terms from the animal's true home, so
the factors that led it to be there remain unknown, puzzling and worrying.
Human actions as a factor in this cannot be ruled out."
For more
information on the rescue attempt,
click here.
Dr Paul Jepson of
the Institute of Zoology, the same vet who was at the centre of the efforts to
save the northern bottlenose whale, has released the preliminary results of
examinations carried out by his team on the body of the dead whale. The whale
died on the 21st January, following a number of days trapped in the Thames and
despite a rescue attempt to return it to its ocean home. 
