The Understanding of Death in Cetaceans
calendar_monthNovember 01, 2011
On the 1st of September 2011 a dead spinner dolphin calf was found in Samadai. The body was retrieved and basic observation collected by the rangers of the Red Sea Protectorates in Marsa Alam. As many of you might know already, the HEPCA team is carrying out a monitoring of Samadai’s population and considers this rare event as a gloomy but still very intriguing occurrence. It would be very interesting to proceed with more in-depth analysis in order to, first of all, understand the position of this calf in the dolphins’ society (i.e. identify the mother, if resident or transient individual, social associations with other mother-calf pairs, etc.) and, second, to investigate potential causes of death. Concerning the latter a detailed analysis of the body and a necropsy would be ideal but this is no longer a viable option. However information, accounts and materials regarding that day can still be very helpful. Were you in Samadai and witnessed the discovery and following retrieve of the corpse? Do you know someone who was there? Please, get in touch with us at info@hepca.com. Your information is important to shed light on what might have happened and to understand behaviors shown by the group. This case would also join the relevant debate about the understanding of death in cetaceans recently treated in the renowned New Scientists and picked up in the RSDP blog.
