Marine Mammals in Mississippi

I don't think I've ever been to Mississippi to be in Mississippi before, though I have driven through. Monica and I spent the whole day there today at a marine mammal stranding conference/workshop sponsored by NOAA and NMFS. It was a fun way to spend the day and learn about new protocols addressing human interaction with marine mammals that have stranded.



NOAA flew in a stranding from Virginia Beach for us all to work on together. They had a UME (Unusual Mass Event) a month or so ago, and this Common Dolphin, Delphinus delphis, was part of that group. It was interesting to see the animal as it's not a species normally found in the Northern Gulf of Mexico. Monica did a great job playing Vanna...



I know the pictures today are kind of sad, so I'm only putting a few in... It's not a lot of fun to do a necropsy, but it's so important to find out what's causing animals to beach themselves while live, or wash up dead. It's equally important to ensure that biologists doing the studies are all doing things the same
way -- consistent data are vital! Check out the tattoos here -- he had some very accurate corals on his arms :)



This stranding had some not fun stuff -- discoloration and possible infection in the lung, necrosis in one kidney, lots of parasitic cysts, and a parasitic worm in the nasal sinus among other anomalies. His belly was badly scratched from rocking against an oyster bed in the Chesapeake region, and he had rake marks on his right flipper and right flank. Dolphins do sometimes play rough! Anyway, it was a long day, but a good learning experience and a great chance to get to know more local stranding team members. It's so hard to find them in the Florida Panhandle west of Destin. It's good to know we have friends to call on if the marine mammals on our beaches have a rough day...