Skull and Neck Lesions in a Long-Finned Pilot Whale ( Globicephala melas ): A Result of Ship Collision?

Autor: Alstrup AKO; Department of Nuclear Medicine & PET, Aarhus University Hospital, DK-8200 Aarhus, Denmark.; Department of Clinical Medicine, Aarhus University, DK-8200 Aarhus, Denmark., Sonne C; Department of Ecoscience, Aarhus University, DK-4000 Roskilde, Denmark., Brauckhoff M; Department of Biology, University of Southern Denmark, DK-5230 Odense, Denmark.; Fisheries and Maritime Museum, DK-6710 Esbjerg, Denmark., Hansen JH; Dan ZooVet, DK-6823 Ansager, Denmark., Thøstesen CB; Fisheries and Maritime Museum, DK-6710 Esbjerg, Denmark.
Jazyk: angličtina
Zdroj: Animals : an open access journal from MDPI [Animals (Basel)] 2022 Sep 09; Vol. 12 (18). Date of Electronic Publication: 2022 Sep 09.
DOI: 10.3390/ani12182362
Abstrakt: Necropsy on an adult male pilot whale stranded in Denmark in an area with heavy boat traffic revealed internal lesions in the head and neck region, while the exterior did not show any visible lesions. We found multiple fractured bones, muscle trauma and extensive hemorrhage including a fractured occipital bone with several fragments and bone pieces deeply embedded into the cerebrum of the brain. The brain was literally smashed while the third and partially fourth cervical vertebrae were almost pulverized surrounded by large amounts of blood and muscle contusion. The whale was likely killed due to a ship collision, and this particular case substantiates the value of always performing full necropsies including incisions in head and neck regions on all stranded whales-especially in areas with heavy boat traffic. This case demonstrates the importance of veterinarians performing full necropsies of whales to rule out other causes of death. Otherwise, ship collisions may be an overlooked issue having implications for population health.
Databáze: MEDLINE
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