Pygmy killer whales found stranded near Boca Grande being treated in

Two rare pygmy killer whales that stranded near Boca Grande Monday are being treated at Mote Marine Laboratory's Dolphin and Whale Hospital in Sarasota.Fishermen found one of the animals swimming into the mangroves along the Boca Grande Causeway, and the other beached itself nearby."Both are thin and scraped up from going into the shallows and mangroves," said Charles Manire, Mote's chief veterinarian. "Both had a lot of infection internally. We're treating dehydration with fluids and the infection with antibiotics."Although these animals are called pygmy killer whales, they're actually dolphins (killer whales, or orcas, are dolphins, as well)."Genetically, they're not that closely related to killer whales," Manire said. "But they behave extremely closely to them. They're probably more aggressive than killer whales. Their behavior is more like a shark than a whale or a dolphin. They will attack young dolphins or whales. They'll kill whatever they come in contact with."These two are extremely sick, but once they get to feeling better, that presents an added risk for us to deal with."Little is known about pygmy killer whales because they're extremely rare; they inhabit deep waters and seldom come near shore.Treating such unknown quantities presents problems for veterinarians."We don't even have normal blood values for blood tests on this species," Manire said. "We're flying by the seat of our pants, so to speak, as far as what we come up with and how to do it."Mote's pygmy killer whales are young adult males, 7 feet long and weighing 242.5 pounds.Between 1993 and 1998, Mote treated three pygmy killer whales.All had parasites in the brain, and all died within three months.As to why cetaceans (dolphins, whales and porpoises) strand, Manire said:"Our belief is that when these animals, which are air breathers, start getting weak, they go to shallow water. They have to be able to get to the surface to breathe. So, as they get weaker and weaker, they go into shallower and shallower water, then they strand. It's a fear of drowning."Manire's prognosis for the pygmy killer whales is very guarded."If the problem is the same the other three had, parasites in the brain, that causes brain damage," Manire said. "Then it depends on how much brain damage there is as to whether we can save them or not."