Beluga Cub Rescued In Alaska
In late September, a baby beluga baby appeared on an Alaskan beach and a recovery center had to take care of him. The young animal could not survive on its own, nor could it return to the water on its own. This is the story of this rescued puppy.
Belugas, also called white whales, are cetaceans that live in and around the arctic area. A beluga bears resemblances to both a whale and a dolphin, although its closest relatives are narwhals. Belugas, when they reach adulthood, measure between three and five meters in length and can weigh 1.2 thousand kilos. They are social, so they live and travel in groups.
Tyonek, a rescued beluga puppy
In late September 2017, a one-year-old beluga puppy appeared on an Alaskan beach. Upon seeing him, the rescue team’s first intention was to return him to the sea, but they soon realized that the cub was too thin and lacked the strength to swim.
So they decided to pick him up and take him to Alaska’s Sealife Center. In the hours after his arrival, beluga specialists came from several cities across the United States to help care for and retrieve the rescued beluga cub.
When he arrived at the center, they discovered that this rescued beluga cub was a male and was approximately four weeks old. He was thin and dehydrated, so much so that he couldn’t maintain his own body heat.
The rescued beluga cub was weak but healthy.
Experts began to comprehensively assess the animal’s health as soon as they arrived at the center. They did blood tests, cultured bacteria, monitored his breathing… After hydrating him, they began to notice improvements in his health. In just a few days, he started swimming by himself and playing with his caregivers.
For the first few days, he was so weak that he had to be fed through a tube every three hours, and after a few weeks he was strong enough to suck from a bottle. Despite this, because of the bottle, like so many other babies, he began to suffer from colic from the gas, and had to be helped to release them.
Currently, the small rescued beluga cub is still in care. Fortunately, he had no bigger health problems than dehydration and low weight.
What is the Alaska Sealife Center
The Alaska Sealife Center is the only aquarium open to the public in all of Alaska. It also functions as a marine life recovery center as it takes care of orphaned or injured animals. Some rescued animals can be returned to life in the wild, but there are others that would not survive and therefore must remain in the care of a recovery center.
The rescued beluga cub is currently not in a swimming pool open to the public. It is monitored 24 hours by beluga specialists in an indoor pool, much quieter and more controlled than the aquarium pools.
Although experts have not yet made a decision, in such cases , there are generally no plans to return the rescued beluga to the wild. It is not possible to know why he split from his group and there are many doubts if he could rejoin the pack. Besides, having spent so much time, so young, surrounded by humans and not belugas, he wouldn’t know how to hunt or survive on his own in freedom.
What to do if we find a stranded cetacean
Every year, there are news about stranded cetaceans in different parts of the world. Cetaceans that get disoriented or sick, and end up stranded on a beach, range from large whales to dolphins. Including puppies of all species, like this little rescued beluga cub.
When an animal is sick, the speed at which humans act is very important for recovery. Knowing what to do with the animal and respecting its space is essential for its survival. In the summer of 2017, a group of tourists found a stranded baby dolphin and, instead of helping, took selfies with it until the baby died.
This unfortunate news shocked the entire world. Therefore, it is important to know what to do in case you encounter an animal in danger. First, we must check whether the animal is dead or not. We should check that he is breathing and that he is able to move his eyes .
If he is alive, we must call the emergency services to mobilize a specialized rescue team and we must follow the instructions received promptly. If the animal is in an accessible area, we must protect it from human stress. In other words, if there are curious people in the area, we should remove them from close by. Normally, emergency teams will ask us to keep the animal shaded and hydrated. This is done with wet towels and constantly pouring seawater over it.
While it seems like we can throw the animal back into the sea on our own, without a veterinarian to tell you if it’s healthy and can survive, we shouldn’t do it . If the animal was stranded on the beach, it is because it is sick or does not have the necessary strength to swim. Returning it to the sea can be a death sentence for the animal in these cases.
If the stranded animal is already dead, we must notify IBAMA (Brazilian Institute for the Environment and Renewable Natural Resources) and ICMBio (Chico Mendes Institute for Biodiversity Conservation) or any environmental police unit so that they can remove the body from the animal . In no case should we touch the carcass of a dead animal, because we can expose ourselves to contamination.
Our collaboration is very important
Tyonek, the rescued beluga puppy, is recovering very well thanks to the quick and precise intervention of the person who found him stranded on the beach. Responsibility and knowledge about what to do in this case is critical to the survival of an endangered animal.
Image source: www.telecinco.es
