The Chicago Zoological Society staff is mourning the loss of a 7-day-old bottlenose dolphin calf born on December 12 to 9-year-old Allison. After Allison, a first-time and inexperienced mother, successfully gave birth, the marine mammal care team conducted round-the-clock observations. Most importantly, they monitored the frequency and duration of nursing, and the time that the mother and calf spent swimming closely to each other (slipstreaming), a critical behavior that allows a newborn dolphin calf to conserve energy. After a couple days, the team observed the mother and calf began showing concerning behavioral changes in their swimming patterns. This past Friday, when it appeared the calf was having increasing problems, the team intervened in order to provide supportive treatment. Despite the efforts by the veterinary and marine mammal staff, the calf died late Friday evening. The team is awaiting complete necropsy results (animal autopsy) to determine if there were other contributing factors. For more details, please visit CZS.org/News.
Posted on: Tue, 23 Dec 2014 00:00:28 +0000
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