Mother Dolphin Dies In Phuket, Baby At Risk

[Lite Beer]

Mother dolphin dies in Phuket, baby at risk

Tanyaluk Sakoot

The mother dolphin and her calf.

PHUKET: A female striped dolphin, rescued after she and her baby were found stranded on a beach in Phang Nga on January 4, has died.

Staff of the Phuket Marine Biological Center (PMBC) are also very concerned about her baby, which is about one year old and has a mouth infection. Striped dolphin babies usually are not weaned until well into their second year.

The two dolphins were brought to the PMBC after local people spotted them on the beach near Nok village, Thung Maphrao.

Both were exhausted. The mother had infected lesions around her eyes, on her tail fin and in her mouth, and PMBC staff were pessimistic about her chances of survival, even after they gave her a blood transfusion and antibiotics. She died last night at 8:30 pm.

Now they are concerned about the baby, which is unable to eat fish because of the infection in its mouth and because it has no mother to provide milk. The baby is being given antibiotics, too, but is proving difficult to treat because it is frightened of humans.

The PMBC is currently conducting an autopsy on the mother to see if this will provide clues that may help to treat the baby.

Source: http://www.thephuketnews.com/mother-dolphin-dies-in-phuket-baby-at-risk-36194.php

--The Phuket News 2013-01-11

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[sunshine51]

Antibiotics cam be given in the "milk". The milk has to be a blend and some info can be found

at Scripps Institute Of Oceanography...http://www.scripps.edu/research/ims/...a good place

to start instead of the homepage. Even better PMBC can look here...http://cmbb.ucsd.edu/

At least one human is going to be needed 24/7 to be in the water with the baby so they build

up trust while a team must be on hand to provide food and medical care and perhaps a standby

person for the in-water events. Plus this may not even solve the problem...which is dependent

now upon how far the bacteria have infected the baby.

But it is a start & better than people standing around scratching their heads & asses.

Edited January 12, 2013 by sunshine51