J28 was noted to be losing body condition in January 2016, presumably from birthing complications, and by July was clearly emaciated. If her carcass is ever found an examination of her ovaries may reveal how many ovulations/pregnancies she actually had, as well as her proximate cause of death (probably septicemia). We estimate that she died in the Strait of Juan de Fuca sometime between 16 and 18 October, prior to her first noted absence on 19 October.
J28 is survived by her Mother, (J17) two sisters (J35 and J53), a brother (J44), a daughter (J46), and a nephew (J47). Her daughter and her oldest sister (J35) are attempting to care for the orphaned calf, but at ten months of age he is too young to survive without mother’s milk supplement, and he has gone too long with inadequate nutrition. No other lactating females have adopted him and his grandmother is too occupied raising her own newest calf (J53, born in October last year) to care for him. His sister, J46, had been catching and offering salmon to her mother and little brother for several months while mom was ill, but that was simply not enough nutrition provided to three whales by one little female no matter how hard she tried. The family requests that in lieu of sending flowers and cake*, well-wishers please send more wild Chinook salmon to and from Pacific Northwest rivers.
Continuing:
1) We have introduced legacy contaminants into the natural ecosystem that have known adverse health effects on all animal life, including our own. And, we know that the whales have bio-accumulated these contaminants to unsafe levels in their blubber.
And, 2) We have drastically altered the availability of the food supply – preponderantly Chinook salmon – both in abundance/biomass and seasonal distribution. These two wrenches work in tandem to have a profound effect on the SRKW population.
When there isn’t enough food to support gestation or lactation whales metabolize their blubber supply for energetic needs. Their own blubber is now actually toxic to them, and when metabolized and circulated in the blood stream it causes reproductive malfunction, immune-suppression, and nervous system impairment. If a pregnant female gets in this malnourished and poisonous situation it can affect the development and survival of the fetus as well as her own health. If the calf is born alive, the contaminants go directly from the mother’s milk to the nursing calf, creating another set of developmental problems. We have seen multiple instances of this in the past: J28 and her calves provide recent evidence, J32 and her necropsy provide evidence, L60 and L51 and their necropsies provide past evidence; and, we will see more of this evidence in the future until we dramatically increase the abundance/biomass of the whales’ primary food supply (Chinook salmon) and its year-round availability to the whale.
www.whaleresearch.com/…
in other news:
The world populations of fish, birds, mammals, amphibians and reptiles fell overall by 52 per cent between 1970 and 2010, far faster than previously thought, the World Wildlife Fund said on Tuesday.
The conservation group's Living Planet Report, published every two years, said humankind's demands were now 50 per cent more than nature can bear, with trees being felled, groundwater pumped and carbon dioxide emitted faster than Earth can recover.
www.google.ca/...