(sorry for cross-posting) Dear colleagues, There is a tragedy with the mass strandings of Cuvier's beaked whales which occur in SE Crete, since the 1st of April.The female Cuvier's beaked whale (Ziphius cavirostris sp.) which was stranded dead on 3/4/2014 at Kastri, Heraklion Crete, Greece, was also pregnant! While necropsy started by the district veterinarian and under Dr. Anastasia’s Komnenou guidance, a fetus of a female Cuvier's beaked whale, of ~1,20 m in length, was revealed in front the socking eyes of the Veterinarian. It was a tragic moment. Therefore, there was not one but two deaths which are recorded for this incident. (please see the pictures at www.facebook.com/ARION.org). During the last week, there is a lot of harm towards the Cuvier's beaked whales in Southern Crete with already four dead animals. In Greece, Ziphius cavirostris’ population, behaviour, feeding areas, reproduction and lifespan are not completely studied. This is a parameter that we stress the authorities for their immediate protection and conservation for these animals, Dr Aimilia Drougas, ARION’s scientific coordinator, commended. The mother was still in gestation and did not make delivering her baby. This is a serious collateral loss and relevant authorities should implement immediate protection measures for the Cuvier’s beaked whales’ population. From relevant literature, Cuvier's Beaked Whale calves are usually, born at about 2.70 m in length (Heyning 2002; Mead 1984) and their physical maturity is reached at between 5.9 m and 6.13 m (Ross 2006). Also, their mating and calving season is reported to be all year round, as no seasonal pattern is evident. Dr. Aimilia Drougas said that the calving areas are not known for Greek waters as well as, the gestation period and calving interval for Cuvier's Beaked Whales are unknown, but in other beaked whales species the interval is expected to be one calf every few years, leading to a slow reproductive capacity. ARION will evaluate all the findings after receiving the results from the histopathological and other analysis of the tissue and internal organ samples, which have been gathered from the 3 necropsies. The analysis is accomplished at the Veterinary Medicine of AUTH laboratories. For further details, on the laboratory results please contact Dr. Anastasia Komnenou at natakomn@vet.auth.gr, The tri-lateral war drill exercises of Greece, Israel and NATO’s navy using sonars are expected to finish on the 10th of April, according to the Hellenic Navy’s formal announcement. Although, the covered area has been moved 100 km southern of Crete, after the alert given by the focal point of ACCOBAMS in Greeece, atypical strandings are still reported in this area. It is known that Ziphiidae ear drums are affected from the low frequency sonars by air empolism. Given the seriousness of the situation and because have historically been other similar mass strandings of Cuvier’s beaked whales on coasts of western and southern Greece, the incident is being monitored by the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine of Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, the Hellenic Marine Research Centre, the Institute of Cetacean Research Pelagos and the Cetacean Rescue and Rehabilitation Research Center - ARION. Local authorities and local residents and ARION’s volunteers of Southern Crete, have been alerted to stand by and immediately notify the port authorities and the above organizations, in case other marine mammals strand on the coast of the broader region. For your information, we attach two pictures taken from the stranded dead mother and her fetus Cuvier's beaked whales who stranded dead at Kastri, Heraklion, SE Crete on 3/4/2014. You may find additional pictures at our social network, for the stranded animals. Best wishes, Aimilia Drougas and Natasa Komnenou ___________________________________________ Dr. Aimilia Drougas, Biologist, Geologist Oceanographer Scientific Coordinator ARION-Cetacean Rescue and Rehabilitation Research Center Limenas, Nea Moudania 63200 Chalkidiki, GREECE Tel.: +30-6945-644994, +30-213-0067257-8 e-mail: arion@arion.org.gr website: http://www.arion.org.gr F/B: http://www.facebook.com/ARION.org ____________________________________ Dr. Anastasia Komnenou, DVM, PhD Anastasia Komnenou, DVM, PhD, Associate Professor, Comparative Ophthalmology- Exotic and Wildlife Medicine Unit, Animal Hospital, School of Veterinary Medicine Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, St. Voutyra 11, 546-27 Thessaloniki, Greece Tel.: +30-6945-531850, +30-2130-994443 e-mail: natakomn@vet.auth.gr
