Marine Mammal Rescue and Response
Trevor Spradlin
NOAA Fisheries Service, Protected Resources
March 23, 2009 — Scientists studying killer whales in the Pacific Northwest last summer documented the juvenile female whale known as “Springer” swimming with her family group off the coast of British Columbia. The sighting of this young whale was particularly exciting for NOAA Fisheries and other researchers since Springer was the first killer whale to be rescued successfully, rehabilitated, and released back to the wild.
Springer breaches in her holding pen while undergoing rehabilitation at a NMFS facility in Washington state. Springer was returned successfully to her family pod in the wild and is still being observed by scientists. Photo credit: Lynne Barre, NMFS-NWR.
Springer was found orphaned and alone in Puget Sound, Wash., in 2002 following the death of her mother and subsequent separation from her pod. She took up residence in Puget Sound near Seattle, in an area with high vessel traffic hundreds of miles away from her pod’s home waters in Canada. NOAA Fisheries and its partners in the marine mammal stranding network took action when it became clear she was lost, in declining health, and was endangering herself by approaching ships.
After receiving veterinary care for one month at a NOAA rehabilitation facility, Springer was transported to her Canadian home waters and reunited with her pod. The successful return of Springer to the wild has become a shining example of the hard work and dedication of the stranding network and NOAA’s Marine Mammal Health and Stranding Response Program, which were responsible for the rescue operations.
Springer's rescue team collects a blood sample during a medical check-up. Advancements in veterinary medical science are helping researchers and managers conserve and protect marine mammals and endangered species. Photo credit: Lynne Barre, NMFS-NWR.
“The success of the Springer rescue project highlights the important contributions of the stranding network’s efforts for marine mammal conservation,” says Janet Whaley, D.V.M., NOAA Fisheries’ National Marine Mammal Stranding Network Coordinator. Whaley helped oversee Springer’s rescue and rehabilitation along with Lynne Barre and Brent Norberg from NOAA Fisheries’ Northwest Regional Office.
Whaley said “Killer whales in the Pacific northwest are a species of particular concern since the southern resident population in the U.S. is endangered. Springer is part of the northern resident community in Canada, and the lessons we learned from her case will be extremely useful if we face a similar case in the future with animals from our endangered population.”
The MMHSR program and its partners in the stranding network respond to more than 5,000 marine mammals each year that are stranded or in distress, including large whales, small cetaceans (dolphins and porpoises) and pinnipeds (seals and sea lions). The stranding network consists of professionals and volunteers from more than 100 organizations authorized to assist the MMHSR program with marine mammal emergency response activities. The network includes non-profit groups, aquaria, universities, and state and local governments. Cases can involve live or dead marine mammals stranded on a beach, displaced by hurricanes or other severe weather events, injured from collisions with vessels, or entangled in fishing gear or marine debris. Cases also can involve animals affected by diseases, biotoxins, or pollution that can trigger in-depth multi-agency investigations to find the root cause.
“Marine mammals are top predators in the ecosystem, and as such, they are important sentinels of the ocean’s health,” says Teri Rowles, D.V.M., Ph.D., who coordinates the MMHSR program for NOAA Fisheries.
Rowles notes, “Our stranding network partners play a critical role as ‘first responders’ for stranded marine mammals. Not only are they providing immediate assistance to animals in need, they are also collecting important biological data that can help us understand larger environmental issues we may be observing, which may have conservation implications, as well as significance for human health and well-being.”