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The agency organizes some public meetings to hear your impressions about the J50 recovery
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Given the continuing wasting of J50 (illustrated above, over the last 16 months), researchers are considering more dramatic treatment methods.
Given the continuing wasting of J50 (illustrated above, over the last 16 months), researchers are considering more dramatic treatment methods.
Given the continuing wasting of J50 (illustrated above, over the last 16 months), researchers are considering more dramatic treatment methods.
Given the continuing wasting of J50 (illustrated above, over the last 16 months), researchers are considering more dramatic treatment methods.
Despite the best efforts of researchers, the state of J50 does not seem to improve. And they plan to take more dramatic steps to help it.
The 3½-year-old orca is the youngest member of the southern resident groups and has been suffering for more than a month of "peanut head" signs, a depression at the base of the skull that may indicate severe fat loss and malnutrition. In September, she remains under the weight of 20% and still shows signs of emaciation.
Last month, researchers finally began to understand what might be behind: a stool sample and her mother showed a moderate level of Contracaecum, a parasite that could harm a weakened or emaciated whale.
But after trying to give J50 – also known as Scarlett – a double dose of medication, leading researchers to believe that the second dose had not been successful, researchers are considering more invasive measures.
"NOAA Fisheries and our partners have explored and taken steps to save J50 because of its importance as a member of this population, and in particular J Pod," said the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration in its Last update.
The move does not come easily. Treating Scarlett has been a challenge, both in terms of diagnosis and care. Since she is a wild killer whale, researchers can not just do tests to see what's wrong with her.
RELATED: Struggles abound when trying to cure a sick calf, but researchers do not give up
Historically speaking, there is no direct precedent for dealing with J50 as researchers have been. Scarlett remains emaciated, but is still with her family, which means that researchers could do more harm than good if they separated her for treatment.
They can not simply provide food to the struggling Orc population. Beyond feeding trials to provide vitamins or drugs, researchers can not risk disrupting the pod or the ecosystem by making it dependent on food.
SEE ALSO: Researchers Are Trying to Treat Scarlett by Administering Antibiotics and Salmon Release:
Even more in-depth testing to find out more about how Scarlett got infected proved to be difficult. When researchers collect faeces to test, they can often only infer that the sample comes from one of the few members of the pod. Sometimes, as was the case in mid-August, they were able to use genetic tests to determine their origin. In this case, they argued that the sample probably came from the mother of J50, J16, also infected with Cotracaecum.
"This sample showed signs of parasitic worms" NOAA tweeted at the time. "Since J16 catches the fish that she next shares with J50, the veterinary team prioritized the treatment of the J50 with a dewormer after antibiotics."
But since their other methods do not seem to work, NOAA thinks it may be time to take more drastic action. But because "the public has an interest in the reaction of the J50s and the recovery of southern resident killer whales", they want to discuss with the public what they should be doing exactly.
RELATED: Resident population of the South has fallen by 25% in the 21st century
"We want to know what people in the region are thinking about this effort and the potential steps for us to hold two public meetings in Washington State to hear the views of the public," NOAA said.
The meetings will be:
– Saturday, September 15th at 7pm Friday Harbor at Friday Harbor High School
– Sunday, Sept. 16 at 1 pm in Seattle at the University of Washington, Haggett Hall Waterfall Hall
Researchers are particularly concerned that the southern resident's population has dropped to only 75 at a census earlier this year. Scarlett was one of 11 orc calves born between 2014 and 2016, and one of six calves to have survived.
Now, an international team with many partners is racing to help it.
Following the 1,700-kilometer swim and the body of his dead calf shortly after his birth, J35 drew more and more attention to the challenges facing the local population of killer whales. High priorities include rare salmon prey, shipping and noise, and contaminants.
SeattlePI journalist Zosha Millman can be contacted at [email protected]. Follow Zosha on Twitter at @zosham. Find more Zosha here on his author page.
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