‘No obvious signs’ point to cause of calf’s death
Marine specialist says tissue analysis could take months

By EDWIN TANJI, City Editor
POSTED: February 27, 2008
rom:


Article Photos
A medical examination found no obvious signs pointing to a cause of death of the baby whale that came ashore at Puamana Beach Park. This picture was taken Monday afternoon as crews patrolled the shore because of reports that sharks had attacked the whale.

The Maui News / AMANDA COWAN photo

KAHULUI — A medical examination of a young humpback whale that died after washing onto the shoreline at Puamana on Monday found no obvious injuries or factors that might have caused the whale’s death, a federal marine resources specialist said Tuesday.

“There were no obvious signs of the cause of death,” said Nicole Davis, Marine Mammal Response Program coordinator on Maui. “She had injuries, but they did not appear to be fatal injuries.”

While witnesses reported the young whale was attacked by sharks as it was swimming just outside the surf break off Puamana, Davis said the whale already was on the beach when she was able to get to the scene and she did not observe any sharks in the shallows.

Anyone who may have observed the calf before it approached the outer reef off Puamana on Monday morning or who may have information on the calf’s condition as it was being attacked by the sharks can write to Davis by e-mail at nicole.davis@noaa.gov or call (808) 292-2372.

She said the whale was a young calf estimated to be no more than a few weeks old, “born sometime in 2008, but not a newborn.”

“It was very young, definitely a new calf, and it appeared it was a female.”

It will take some time for laboratories on the Mainland to complete their analysis of the tissue samples taken from the whale in the effort to determine what caused its death.

“It can take several months, maybe longer and it may be close to a year before we get all of the results. And we may never know for sure what happened,” she said.

After surfers and others on the beach at Puamana called police about the sharks attacking the whale, Maui police were the first to arrive at the beach where a number of beachgoers were attempting to keep the whale calf in the water despite the threat of sharks in the shallow water.

Davis said specialists with state and federal agencies responded to the emergency, but they could not get to the site quickly enough to attempt to save the calf.

“There really was little anyone could do. If there were sharks attacking the whale, nobody could pull the sharks off the whale. If the sharks were attacking the whale and it could not get away, there was something wrong with the calf,” she said.

When police arrived, they ordered the people holding onto the whale to clear the water because of the threat of sharks. County and state water safety officials also closed the shoreline for a mile on each side of the scene, but reopened the beaches Tuesday morning after determining the sharks were no longer present in the nearshore waters.

“It was for the health and safety of the public that they had to move everyone back from the beach,” Davis said.

The response team included Maui County ocean safety officers who assisted in monitoring the sharks and warned surfers and others along the coastline of the presence of sharks, specialists with the Hawaiian Islands Humpback Whale National Marine Sanctuary, state conservation enforcement officers and aquatics biologists, and the National Marine Fisheries Service.

Davis said the recovery team consulted with Native Hawaiian cultural practitioners on proper handling of the dead calf as part of the protocol for handling a marine mammal that dies in island waters.

“All of the people involved are feeling saddened at the loss of this calf. Even if the humpback whale population is recovering, the death of a young female is a real loss,” she said.

• Edwin Tanji can be reached at citydesk@mauinews.com'>citydesk@mauinews.com.