Dead Baby Dolphins....

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BIGSAGE136

Contributor
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Location
Fort Lauderdale, Florida, United States
# of dives
200 - 499
Not much info. Does anyone else have anything?

http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/ya...8,0,4887756.story?coll=sfla-newsaol-headlines


For days, she pushed the carcass of her firstborn in front of her as she swam slowly around the Indian River Lagoon near the St. Lucie Inlet.

The last thing she wanted was for scientists from Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institution to take the dead baby dolphin for research, scientists said Thursday. "It's a grieving period and, it tugs at the heartstrings to see it," said Steve McCulloch, the director of dolphin research.

What's worse is the possibility of increased reports of dead baby dolphins in the St. Lucie Estuary. Scientists recently discovered that dolphins absorb toxins in the years before they reach sexual maturity, passing the built-up pollution to their firstborn.

On Wednesday, Harbor Branch scientists responded to calls from an angler and a state wildlife officer who saw the mother dolphin with her dead calf. Scientists knew the mother dolphin -- named Cone for the shape of her dorsal fin -- from nine years of photo identification studies and health assessment work. The mother first tried to keep the carcass away from them. When they finally were able to pull the dead 5-month-old from the water, the mother screamed two high-pitched calls.

Suddenly, seven other dolphins circled around her -- summoned to help, McCulloch said. An examination determined that its right lung was "tremendously infected," McCulloch said.
 
Oddly, this is an "advantage" for female dolphins that live in polluted waterways. By having lots of babies, they partially purge accumulated toxins.

Cetaceans also can also forestall sickness by maintaining their blubber stores. Toxins are usually sequestered in these tissues, where they mostly act inert. So long as the dolphin doesn't run out of food and start burning its blubber, it's somewhat protected from certain pollution effects.
 
Humans can also store chemicals in their fat. Most of the fat on the human body is similar to blubber that aquatic mammals have, since its subcutaneous and not easily mobilized.
 
https://www.shearwater.com/products/teric/

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