necropsy- killer whale kahana

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The Orca Project Corp 3/11/2012 www.theorcaproject.com Necropsy Report Killer Whale (Orcinus-orca) Kahana Age 15 yrs — SeaWorld of Texas Name: Kahana (female) Species: Killer Whale (Orcinus orca) Source: wild capture, 1978, Tvisker coast, Iceland, age: est. 2 yrs Deceased: 6:09 a.m., 05-14-1991, SeaWorld of Texas, age: est. 15 yrs Reported cause of death (per NMFS MMIR data): Severe Trauma, Intestinal Ganglioneuroma Necropsy info: Conclusion- Leslie M. Dalton, DVM (1991): The animal had an intestinal neoplasm of neural origin which is of a type known to be capable of producing excruciating pain. During agonal throes, the whale collided with the side of the pool, which induced multiple fractures of the skull and cerebral contusions. These lesions resulted in severe hemorrhage, loss of consciousness, and death. Pathology- Ronald R. Crawley, DVM, University of Texas (1991) : 1. intestinal neurofibroma 2. granulomatous pneumonia, focal, mycotic 3. meningeal hemorrhage, multifocal of varying severity 4. hepatitis, multifocal, minimal See the extensive Necropsy Report data on the following pages.

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Necropsy (autopsy) of deceased captive killer whale (Orcinus-orca) Kahana at SeaWorld, San Antonio, TX, U.S.A.

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Page 1: Necropsy- Killer Whale Kahana

The Orca Project Corp 3/11/2012 www.theorcaproject.com

Necropsy Report Killer Whale (Orcinus-orca) Kahana

Age 15 yrs — SeaWorld of Texas Name: Kahana (female) Species: Killer Whale (Orcinus orca) Source: wild capture, 1978, Tvisker coast, Iceland, age: est. 2 yrs Deceased: 6:09 a.m., 05-14-1991, SeaWorld of Texas, age: est. 15 yrs Reported cause of death (per NMFS MMIR data): Severe Trauma, Intestinal Ganglioneuroma Necropsy info: Conclusion- Leslie M. Dalton, DVM (1991): The animal had an intestinal neoplasm of neural origin which is of a type known to be capable of producing excruciating pain. During agonal throes, the whale collided with the side of the pool, which induced multiple fractures of the skull and cerebral contusions. These lesions resulted in severe hemorrhage, loss of consciousness, and death. Pathology- Ronald R. Crawley, DVM, University of Texas (1991): 1. intestinal neurofibroma 2. granulomatous pneumonia, focal, mycotic 3. meningeal hemorrhage, multifocal of varying severity 4. hepatitis, multifocal, minimal See the extensive Necropsy Report data on the following pages.

Page 2: Necropsy- Killer Whale Kahana

The Orca Project Corp 3/11/2012 www.theorcaproject.com

Notes: Prior to reforms of the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA) in 1994, holders of marine mammals for public display were required to submit necropsy reports (animal autopsy reports) for deceased animals, making the documents available to the public and scientific community. Presently, marine mammal parks in the U.S. are only required to provide a “cause of death” to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) which maintains Marine Mammal Inventory Reports (MMIR). Details of marine mammal deaths are now a closely guarded secret at U.S. entertainment facilities. The Orca Project acquired the following documents from the National Marine Fisheries Service (U.S.A) via the Freedom of Information Act for deaths that occurred prior to implementation of the 1994 MMPA changes. For more information visit www.theorcaproject.com Necropsy, Autopsy, Veterinarian, NOAA, NMFS, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, National Marine Fisheries Service, MMIR, Marine Mammal Inventory Report, MMPA, Marine Mammal Protection Act, Killer Whale, Orca, Shamu, Death, Die, SeaWorld, San Antonio, Texas, Kahana, Hammond Consultants

Page 3: Necropsy- Killer Whale Kahana

$ja wZB"l(-j 01 Terar

J u l y 3 , 1991 .. .

D r . Nancy F o s t e r D i r e c t o r , O f f i c e o f P r o t e c t e d Resources

a n d H a b i t a t Programs N a t i o n a l Mar ine F i s h e r i e s S e r v i c e 1335 East-West Highway, Room 8268 S i l v e r S p r i n g , Maryland Z U Y lD

3ezr D r . F o s t e r :

P l e a s e f i n d e n c l o s e d a g r o s s necropsy and h i s t o p a t h o l o g y r e p o r t for a f e m a l e k i l l e r whale of approxima, te ly 1 4 t o 16 y e a r s , i d e n t i f i e d a s SWF-00-7803. The animal d i e d sudden ly a n d w i t h o u t warning n e a r dawn on May 1 4 , 1991.

F o r s e c u r i t y r e a s o n s , k i l l e r whales a t S e a World o f Texas a r e a t t e n d e d t w e n t y f o u r hour s a d a y . . The t h r e e w h a l e s ( o n e male , two f e m a l e s ) ma in t a ined a t Sea World of Texas had s p e n t a n u n e v e n t f u l ' .

n i g h t r e s t i n g t o g e t h e r . The o f f i c e r o n d u t y o b s e r v e d a sudden t u r b u l e n c e o f w a t e r around one of t h e wha le s . The . o t h e r two whales r ema ined q u i e t and und i s tu rbed i n a d i s t a n t p a r t o f t h e poo l . The .

o f f i c e r p roceeded immediately t o th.e s i t e o f t h e d i s t u r b a n c e and o b s e r v e d e v i d e n c e o f some b l e e d i n g from t h e mouth o f t h e whale i n v o l v e d . The o f f i c e r immediately in formed t h e p a r k d i s p a t c h e r of a n a n i m a l emergency. C u r a t o r i a l p e r s o n n e l w e r e p rompt ly n o t i f i e d by t h e d i s p a t c h e r and a r r i v e d a t t h e k i l l e r - w h a l e poo l w i t h i n t e n m i n u t e s o f t h e emergency r e p o r t . The government was n o t i f i e d of t h e d e a t h , and a necropsy was performed.

The immedia te conc lus ion drawn from t h e g r o s s n e c r o p s y r e p o r t is t h a t t h e an ima l d i e d a s a r e s u l t of s k u l l f r a c t u r e s and b lood l o s s . F u r t h e r review of t h e p o s t mortem f i n d i n g s i d e n t i f i e s an i n t e s t i n a l t umor o f n e u r a l o r i g i n which is of a t y p e kl~own t o b e c a p a b l e of p r o d u c i n g e x c r u c i a t i n q pa in . W e b e l i e v e t h e k i l l e r whale e x p e r i e n c e d a sudde:~ and s i g n i f i c a n t amount o f p a i n w h i l e r e s t i n y , c a u s i n g ? panicked and u n c o n t r o l l e d r e s p o n s e . A s a r e s u l t , s h e c o l l i d e d w i t h t h e pool w a l l caus ing m u l t i p l e s k i l l f r a c t u r e s which i n d u c e d r a p i d l o s s of blood an,l c e r e b r a l c o n t u s i o n s l e a d i n g t o a s w i f t d e a t h .

A b r i e f h i s t o r y of t h e animal is n e c e s s a r y f o r a n unders ' t anding of t h e c i r c u m s t a n c e s su r round ing h e r d e a t h .

I

Sea World of Texas 10500 Sea Vdorld Drive San Anlon~o..TX-78251 (5 12) 523-3000

Ruxl l Enrcrrainrrx.r~c C I ."? Corporation

Page 4: Necropsy- Killer Whale Kahana

T h e a n i r a l was c o l l e c t e d i n 1978 a t a p p r o x i m a t e l y two y e a r s o f a g e a n d was i n a p p a r e n t good h e a l t h . u n t i l l a + O c t o b e r 1990 . I n t h e s e v e n t h month o f h e r f i r s t p r e g n a n c y (17 month g e s t a t i o n ) , s h e e x h i b i t e d a c u t e s i g n s o f a b d o m i n a l p a i n , f e v e r , i n a p p e t e n c e , and l e t h a r g y ,

A team o f s t a f f and c o n s u l t i n g v e t e r i n a r i a n s d i a g n o s e d h e r c o n d i t i o n a s impending s p o n t a n e o u s m i s c a r r i a g e . The a n i m a l was p l a c e d o n a p p r o p r i a t e m e d i c a t i o n a n d t w e n t y - f o u r h o u r c a r e and o b s e r v a t i o n .

The a n i m a l w a s c o n s i d e r e d i n s e r j - o u s c o n d i t i o n u n t i l a f t e r t h e November 6 , 1990 e x p u l s i o n o f a 3 3 " decompos ing f e t u s . Ti1 e p l a c e n t a was p a s s e d two d a y s l a t e r , a n d h e r m e d i c a l c o n d i t i o n began t o i m p r o v e s u b s t a n t i a l l y . By J a n u a r y 2nd t h e c l i n i c a l p i c t u r e was w i t h i n a normal r a n g e f o r t h i s a n i m a l . The o n l y r e m a i n i n g c o n d i t i o n o f n o t e was a v a r i a b l e a p p e t i t e f rom p r e - m i s c a r r i a g e l e v e l s . D u r i n g t h e weeks b e f o r e d e a t h , h e r c l i n i c a l a n d b e h a v i o r a l s t a t e was c o n s i d e r e d w i t h i n normal p a r a m e t e r s . A s p r e v i o u s l y n o t e d , d e a t h was u ~ e x p e c t e d a n d s u d d e n o n May 1 4 , 1991.

W e would l i k e t o re -emphas ize t h a t t h i s a n i m a l was i n a p p a r e n t good h e a l t h p r i o r t o t h e o n s e t o f t h e i l l n e s s p r e c e d i n g t h e m i s c a r r i a g e . A f t e r a r e c o v e r y p e r i o d , s h e r e t u r n e d t o a c l i n i c a l l y and b e h a v i o r a l l y normal c o n d i t i o n . W e h a d no r e a s o n t o s u s p e c t t h e p r e s e n c e o f a n y i l l n e s s . I n a n y case, t h e t e c h n o l o g y n e c e s s a r y t o d e t e c t a n d t r e a t c a n c e r o f t h i s t y p e i n k i l l e r w h a l e s d o e s n o t e x i s t .

S i n c e r e l y ,

S t a f f v e t e r i n a r i a n

Page 5: Necropsy- Killer Whale Kahana

si ;'C)%.L9

G R C S S !:ECROPSY REPORT

F a c i l i t y : S e a World o f T e x a s F r o s e c t o r : Crawde~r , Younq, riiilncs, kndcrso;.

~ e n u s / S p e c i e s : O r c i n u s o r c a I D t : SWF-00-7803

A g e : A p p r o x i m a t e l y 1 5 y r s . - - - . S e x : ~ e m a kg

D a t e of D e a t h : 5 / 1 4 / 9 1 0609 h r s . D a t e o f N e c r o p s y : 5 / 1 4 / 9 1 0900 h r s .

EXTERNAL MORPHOMETRICS: (metric o n l y )

WEIGHT: 2077 .27 kq

T O T A L LENGTH: 508 c m G I R T H A T A X I L L A : 2 8 9 . 6 c m

G I R ' r H A T A N U S : 2 2 6 . 1 ~ ~ 1 . FLUKE X I D T H : 1 . 3 4 . 6 c m . . .

G I R T H A T U M B I L I C U S : 312.4 c m DORSAL F I N H E I G H T : 6 7 . 3 1 c m

H I S T O R Y :

his a n i m a l h a d b e e n i n a p p a r e n t good h e a l t h f r o m t h e t i m e o f h e r a r r i v a l a t S e a World u n t i l O c t o b e r 2 3 , 1990 when s h e p r e s e n t e d w i t h a c u t e l e t h a r g y and i n a p p e t e n c e . S h e a p p e a r e d t o h a v e a b d o m i n a l p a i n a n d w a s immediately s t a r t e d on m e d i c a t i o n . Due t o t h e l e u k o g r a m a n d t h e p r o g e s t e r o n e l e v e l s m o n i t o r e d s i n c e c o n c e p t i o n i n March o f 1 9 9 0 , a t e n t a t i v e d i a g n o s i s o f i m p e n d i n g s p o n t a n e o u s a b o r t i o n was made. The a n l n a l a b o r t e d a 33 i n c h , 1 6 l b . p a r t i a l l y a u t o l y z e d . f e t u s o n November 6 , 1990. The e n t i r e p l a c e n t a was p a s s e d o n November 8 , 1990. A f t e r t h e m i s c a r r i a g e , s h e b e g a n t o r e t u r n t o n o r m a l a s r e f l e c t e d by a p p e t i t e , b e h a v i o r , c h e m i s t r i e s , a n d hemogram. M e d i c a t i o n s were d i s c o n t i n u e d o n November 20 , 1 9 9 0 . I n t e n s i v e m o n i t o r i n g c o n t i n u e d a f t e r m e d i c a t i o n was s t o p p e d u n t i l F e b r u a r y 6 , 1 9 9 1 when s h e was r e t u r n e d t o a r o u t i n e m o n i t o r i n g s c h e d u l e which i n c l u d e d d a i l y v e t e r i n a r y o b s e r v a t i o n s a n d m o n t h l y p h y s i c a l e x a m i n a t i o n s . S h e had r e t u r n e d t o n o r m a l w i t h t h e e x c e p t i o n o f h e r a p p e t i t e which remained v a r i a b l e . D u r i n g t h e weeks p r i o r t o h e r d e a t h , h e r b e h a v i o r a n d c l i n i c a l p i c t u r e w e r e e x c e l l e n t a n d a p p e t i t e a p p e a r e d t o b e s t a b i l i z i n g . D e a t h n c c u r r e d w i t h o u t w a r n i n g a t 6 : 0 9 a . n . on May 1 4 , 1 9 9 1 .

GENERAL E X T E R N A L A P P E A W C E : ( o r a l c a v i t y , e x t e r n a l n a r e s , s k i n , e y e s )

T h e r e is a 4 c m o v o i d superficial a b r a s i o n o v e r t h e m a n d i b u l a r s y m p h y s i s . T h e r e is a d e g l o v i n g wound o v e r t h e a r e a of t h e m a n d i b u l a r s y m p h y s i s . M u l t i p l e l a c e r a t i o n s o f t h e g i n g i v a e a r e p r e s e n t . The d e n t i t i o n o f t h e l e f t m a n d i b u l a r a r c a d e is c l i s r u p t e d . Two t e e t h a r e m i s s i n g from t h e a n t e r i o r a s p e c t o f t h e l o w e r a r c a d e . r'

kJo r e c e n t r a k e marks a r e p r e s e n t - o n t h e s k i n .

Page 6: Necropsy- Killer Whale Kahana

PAGE 2 X0r SKf-00-7803

SUBDERKAL C O N D I T I O N : ( b l u b b e r , m u s c l e s , lymph: n o d e s ;

T h e b l u b b e r t h i c k n e s s is a p p r o x i m a t e l y 7-8 c m w h i c h is n o r m a l . T h e r e is a c o n t u s i o n a r o u n d t h e l e f t o r b i t .

-. . -*

CRANIAL EXAM: ( e a r s , me lon , p t e r y g o i d s i n u s )

T h e m a n d i b u l a r s y m p h y s i s is s e p a r a t e d . T h e r e is a s l a b f r a c t u r e of t h e a n t e r i o r d o r s a l a s p e c t o f t h e m a n d i b l e w h i c h i n c l u d e s t h e f i r s t t w o t e e t h o n t h e l e f t a n d r i g h t s ide . T h e r e is a compound c o m m i n u t e d f r a c t u r e o f t h e m i d - l e f t h o r i z o n t a l r a m u s . T h e r e is a n . . hq-rl. F v ~ ~ t r ~ r n n f th lrrht h t ; t l r ; l m l ~ -

L , . L U L L .L,..L L L UULUL L -1- r-)-- . - -C IZ - l T h e r e

a re h a i r l i n e f r a c t u r e s o f t h e r i g h t f r o n t a l , p a r i e t a l , a n d o c c i p i t a l b o n e s . T h e r e is a s i m p l e f r a c t u r e e x t e n d i n g t o t h e r i g h t t e m p o r a l b o n e .

CENTRAL NERVOUS SYSTEM: ( b r a i n , . p i t u i t a r y , s p i n a l c o r d )

T h e d u r a mater is l a c e r a t e d o v e r t h e r i g h t cerebral h e m i s p h e r e . T h e r e is a 5 c m s u b d u r a l e c c h y m o t i c h e m o r r h a g e o v e r t h e r i g h t m i d d o r s a l c e r e b r u m . T h e r e is a l o c a l i z e d a r e a o f , s u p e r f i c i a l h e m o r r h a g e o v e r t h e l e f t cerebral h e m i s p h e r e .

THOF-WIG C A V I T Y : ( p l e u r a )

T h e r e is e v i d e n c e o f e x t e n s i v e h e m o r r h a g e i n t h e m e d i a s t i r i u m . N o s o u r c e f o r t h e a p p a r e n t m e d i a s t i n a l h e m o r r h a g e c a n be

I i d e n t i f i e d . ~ u f f u s i o n hemor rhage is p r e s e n t a l o n g t h e s e r o s a l s u r f a c e o f t h e t h o r a c i c e s o p h a g u s .

UPPER RESPIRATORY SYSTEM: ( n a s a l s a c s , n a r e s , l a r y n x )

A p p e a r s n o r m a l q r o s s l y .

LOWER RESPIRATORY SYSTEM: ( t r a c h e a , b r o n c h i , l u n g s , lymph n o d e s )

T h e l e f t l u n g l o b e c o n t a i n s two b u l l o u s a i r - f i l l e d s t r u c t u r e s . T h e r e is a 9 c m d i a m e t e r mass w i t h a 2 c m d iameter c a s e o u s c e n t e r . T h e r e is f r o t h p r e s e n t i n t h e m a j o r b r o n c h i .

CARDIOVASCULAR SYSTEM: ( h e a r t , a o r t a , major v e s s e l s )

A p p e a r s n o r m a l q r o s s l y .

ABDOMINAL C A V I T Y : ( lymph n o d e s )

A l l o r g a n s a p p e a r d r y a n d a p p e a r t o c o n t a i n v e r y l i t t l e b l o o d . A l l l y m p h n o d e s a p p e a r e d v e r y p r o m i n e n t a n d e x u d e d a w h i t i s f i f l u i d o n c u t s u r f a c e .

1

Page 7: Necropsy- Killer Whale Kahana

D I G E S T I V E SYSTEM: . ( e s o p h a g u s , s t o r . a c h , i n t e s ~ i n e , cec;ir.. r t c t u i n , lymph nodes)

T h e j e j u n u m c o n t a i n s t h i c k b rownish- red U q u i a . The mucosa is f r i a b l e . T h e r e a r e s e r o s a l p e t e c h i a e a n d e c c h y m o s e s i n v o l v i n g t h e d i s t a l s m a l l . i n t e s t i n e . T h e r e is a s o l i d w h i t e 6 c m b y 3 c m mass i n t h e d i s t a l s m a l l i n t e s t i n e t h a t e x t e n d s f r o m t h e mucosa l s u r f a c e t o t h e s e r o s a l s u r f a c e . . No g a s t r o i n t e s t i n a l u l c e r s a r e p r e s e n t .

LIVER: ( b i l i a r y s y s t e m )

T h e g r o s s a p p e a r a n c e o f t h e i i v e r is ~ l ~ ~ l ~ ~ l

PANCREAS :

p pears n o r m a l g r o s s l y .

S P L E E N :

T h e s p l e e n is s m a l l w i t h f i b r o i s t a g s o n t h e c a p s u l e . T h e r e a r e n o s i g n i f i c a n t g r o s s l e s i o n s .

R E P R O D U C T I V E SYSTEM: ( t e s t i c l e s , o v a r i e s )

T h e r i g h t ' o v a r y c o n t a i n s s e v e r a l d e v e l o p i n g f o l l i c l e s a n d o n e a t r o p h i c c o r p u s l u t e u n . T h e r e is a l a r g e r o u n d 1-1.5 c m c o r p u s l u t e u m n o t i c e a b l e on t h e s u r f a c e o f t h e l e f t o v a r y . The r e m a i n d e r o f t h e o v a r y a p p e a r s t o b e composed o f l u t e a l t i s s u e . T h e r e is a 2 c m c y s t i n t h e l e f t mesovarium. The c y s t is f i r m a n d f l u i d f i l l e d . T h r e e s m a l l , f i b r o u s p l a q u e s a r e p r e s e n t on t h e s e r o s a o f t h e l e f t u t e r i n e h o r n . These a p p e a r t o b e s c a r s , n o t a c t i v e l e s i o n s . T h e r e p r o d u c t i v e t r a c t a p p e a r s e s s e n t i a l l y n o r m a l .

URINARY SYSTEM: ( k i d n e y s , u r e t e r , b l a d d e r , u r e t h r a )

A p p e a r s n o r m a l g r o s s l y .

ADRENAL G W D S :

A p p e a r s n o r m a l g r o s s l y .

S K E L E T A L SYSTEM:

A p p e a r s n o r m a l g r o s s l y . S e e c r a n i a l exam

PARASITE SUMMARY:

No p a r a s i t e s f o u n d .

Page 8: Necropsy- Killer Whale Kahana

S P E C I A L T E S T S :

Histopathology Microbiology ~agnetic resonance imaging (brain)

- G R O S S SUMMARY:

1. intestinal mass 2 . pulmonary mass 3 . multiple fractures of the skull and mandible 4 . laceration of the cerebral dura mater

6. rnediastinal hemorrhage

H I S T O P A T H O L O G Y S U P N A R Y :

1. intestinal neurofibroma / ganglioneuromatosis 2 . meningeal hemorrhage, multifocal of varying severity 3 . granulomatous pneumonia, single focus, mycotic-inactive 4. hepatitis, multifocal, minimal-insignificant

. M I C R O B I O L O G Y SUMMARY:

. .

No significant findings.

M A G N E T I C R E S O N A N C E I M A G I N G

I Jo significant lesions.

The animal had an intestinal neoplasm of neural origin which is of a type known to be capable of producing excruciating pain. 'During agonzl throes, the whale collided with the side of the pool, which induced nultiple fractures of the skull and cerebral contusions. These lesions resulted in severe hemorrhage, loss of consciousness, and death.

Date: d .x& /?4/ signed;

Page 9: Necropsy- Killer Whale Kahana

. .- . . .

. . . ' ~ I I C I . ~ I I I ~ C . ~ . I I J (,I I .~ . .~ : I . . . , .

- 3 1 14calth S\-ic.ncc i c ~ ~ r c r ; I [ \ . I " \~icorl io

..- / ?703 Fluiti c2ri I J I : \ - c . .,. .

. /. San Anrunlo. Texas ;S'2S4-;.-'>*. .-. --

- . - . . - - . -. . - - . - - - - -- --

Deparrment ol Laboratory Animal Resources 612) 567-6166

. .

J u n e , 2 0 , 1 9 9 1

7 . Q l F p r ; - L & . *...A4 - .

A n i m a l number : 116 377 532 S u b m i t t e d b y : D r . D a l t o n

A . i n t e s t i n e - mucosa a u t o l y t i c , i n c r e a s e d c e l l u l a r i t y i n v o l v i n g t h e m ~ e n t e r l c p l e x u s . T h e r e is m a r k e d s p i n d l e c e l l p r o l i f e r a t i o n a r o u n d t h e m y e n t e r i c g a n g l i a a n d a l o n g n e r v e s i n t o t h e i n n e r c i r c u l a r s m o o t h m u s c l e l a y e r s a n d o u t e r l o n g i t u d i n a l smooth musc le l a y e r s . A f t e r t r a v e r s i n g t h e m u s c l e l a y e r s t h e s p i n d l e c e l l s f o r m a d e n s e l a y e r b e t w e e n t h e i n n e r c i r c u l a r m u s c l e l a y e r a n d t h e sub rnucosa . L i k e w i s e a d e n s e l a y e r o f s p i n d l e c e l l s is f o r m e d b e t w e e n t h e o u t e r l o n g i t u d i n z l m u s c l e l a y e r a n d t h e serosa. M i t o t i c f i g u r e s a re n o t f o u n d i n t h i s p o p u l a t i o n o f s p i n d l e ce l l s . T h e s p i n d l e ce l ls h a v e a s i n g l e o v a l n u c l e u s w i t h wavy c y t o p l a s m i c p r o c e s s e s e x t e n d i n g from e a c h e n d . T h e cel ls are a r r a n g e d w i t h p a r a l l e l c y t o p l a s m i c p r o c e s s e s w h i c h s t a i n f o r c o l l a g e n w i t h a t r i c h r o m e s t a i n .

B . i n t e s t i n e - s i m i l z r t o A b u t w i t h more p r o n o u n c e d i n v o l v e m e n t o f t h e s u b n u c o s a l and s u b s e r o s a l a reas . T h e r e a r e a l s o g l o b o i d m a s s e s a r i s i n g from t h e g a n g l i o n a r e a S ~ t w e e n t h e m u s c l e l a y e r s . T n e r e a r e g a n g l i o n c e l l s w h i c h a p p e a r t o b e t r a p p e d i n t h e s e n a s s e s . The masses a re composed c f l o o s e l y a r r a n g e d s p i n d l e cells f o r m i n g w h o r l s a n d i n t e r d i g i t a t i n g b u n d l e s - T h e s e c e l l s have l o n g wavy c y t o p l a s m i c p r o c e s s e s t h a t s t a i n l e s s i n t e n s e l y f c r c o l l a g e r l t l - ~ a r i . t h e c z i l s 2; t h d t e x t e n d o u t w a r d a l o n g n e r v e s f rom t h e s e masses. My l r n p r e s s i o n is t h a t t h l s l e s i o n r e p r e s e n t s a n e u r o f i b r o m a a n d i s composed o f f i b r o b l a s t s a n d Schwann ce l l s . 1 c a n n o t determine l f t h e g a n g l i o n c e l l s a r e p a r t o f t h e n e o p l a s t i c p r o c e s s o r a r e e n t r a p p e d w l t h i n t h e n e o p l a s t i c t i s s u e . I f t h e g a n g l l o n c e l l s are p a r t o f t h e n e o p l a s t i c p r o c e s s t h e diagnosis 1s g a n g l i o n e u r o f i b r o n a .

,

.C - i n t e s t i n e - same a s B

D . i n t e s t i n e - e d g e o f h

Page 10: Necropsy- Killer Whale Kahana

~ . c c e s s i o n nuribel-: 51,5-E7 Animai number: 116 3 7 7 5 3 2 Page, .? -:: i

E . s u b m a n d i b u l a r l>mph node - f a t t y i n f i l t r a t i o n , h e m o s l d e r l n a c c u m u l a t i o n i n m e d u l l a r y macrophages ,

F. s u b m a n d i b u l a r lymph node - same , a s E

G . m e s e n t e r i c lymph node - no l e s i o n

H . m e s e n t e r i c lymph node - no l e s i o n

J. l u n q - H & E , f o c a l c j ranulomatous pneumonia w i t h c a s e o u s e x u d a t e c o n t a i n i n g numerous h y p h a l s t r u c t u r e s w i t h t h e t y p i c a l morpho logy o f A s p e r q i l l u s SJ. The l e s i o n h a s a t h i c k c a p s u l e o f f i b r o u s c o n n e c t i v e t i s s u e , l y m p h o c y t e s , p lasma c e l l s , a n d f o r e i g n body g i a n t c e l l s . T h e r e is c h r o n i c o b s t r u c t i v e p u l m o n a r y d i s e a s e i n t h e l u n g t i s s u e s u r r o u n d i n g t h e m y c o t i c l e s i o n . The a d j a c e n t b r o n c h i o l e s and a l v e o l i a r e d i l a t e d and c o n t a i n a mucoid s e c r e t i o n .

J. l u n g GMS - same a s J H & E

K. l u n g H&E - s e c t i o n o f l u n g a d j a c e n t t o m y c o t i c g r a n u l o m a w i t h c h r o n i c o b s t r u c t i v e pulmonary d i s e a s e a s d e s c r i b e d i n J.

K . l u n g GMS - n e g a t i v e f u n g a l e l e m e n t s . a

L. l u n g H&E - same a s J

L. l u n g GMS - s a n e a s J

- l u n g - no l e s i o n

N . l u n g - s a m e a s K

0 . l u n g - fo8:us o f s u b a c u t e t o c h r o n i c bronchopneumonia c h a r a c t e r i z e d by e x u d a t i o n o f mixed p o p u l a t i o n o f l e u k o c y t e s a n d c r c ; a r , i z i n g f i b r i n ' i n t g b r o r l c h i o l e s a n d - a l v e o l i .

P. l u n g - no l e s i o n

Q - s m ~ - l l i n t e s t i n e - a u t o l y t i c mucosa , no l e s i o n s m a l l i n t e s t i n e - p r o m i n e n t B r u n n e r s g l a n d s , i n f i l t r a t e s o f p l a s m a ce l l s and l y m p h o c y t e s a t t h e i n t e r f a c e of B r u n n e r s g l a n d s a n d t h e s u p e r f i c i a l mucosa .

I

R. s m a l l i n t e s t i n e - a u t o l y t i c mucosa , n o l e s i o n s m a l l i n t e s t i n e - a u t o l y t i c mucosa , n o l e s i o n

Page 11: Necropsy- Killer Whale Kahana

.L.:cessi.zr. nunbsr: 2 1 T 5 - 6 7

.L.n ima 1 n u n b e r : i i 6 3 7 7 532,

S . smal l i n t e s t i n e - a u t o l y t i c m u c o s a , n g l e s i o n l a r g e i n t e s t i n e -, a u t o l y t i c m u c o s a , g u b s e r o s a l h e m o r r h a g e

T. s m a l l i n t e s t i n e - a u t o l y t i c m u c o s a , n o l e s i o n small i n t e s t i n e - a u t o l y t i c m u c o s a , n o l e s i o n

U. s m a l l i n t e s t i n e - a u t o l y t i c m u c o s a , n o l e s i o n g l a n d u l a r s t o m a c h - n o ' l e s i o n

, - g l a n d u l a r s t o m a c h - n o l e s i o n ' n o n g l a n d u l a r s t o m a c h - n o l e s i o n

. s m a l l i n t e s t i n e - a u t o l y t i c m u c o s a , n o l e s i o n

X. o v a r y ( l e f t ) - l a r g e c o r p u s l u t e u m , n o l e s i o n

Y . o v a r y ( r i g h t ) - c o r p u s a l b i c a n s a n d f e w p r i m o r d i a l f o l l i c l e s i n s t r o m a - no l e s i o n

2. h e p a t i c lymph n o d e - m i l d edema a n d m i l d e r y t h r o p h a q o c y t o s i s

AA. p a n c r e a s - m i l d i n t e r s t i t i a l e d e m a , s l i g h t a u t o l y s i s , n o l e s i o n

BB. a d r e n a l g l a n d - n o l e s i o n

C C . k i d n e y - e a r l y a u t o l y s i s - , n o l e s i o n

D D . s p l e e n - n o l e s i o n s u b l u m b a r lymph node - n o l e s i o n

EE. k i d n e y - n o l e s i o n a d r e n a l . - n o l e s i o n

FF. h e a r t - n o l e s i o n s p l e e n - no l e s i o n

G G . h e a r t - n o l e s i o n h e a r t - n o l e s i o n

HH. h e a r t - no l e s l . a n h e a r t - no l e s i o n

11. h e a r t - n o l e s i o n h e a r t - no l e s i o n

JJ. h e a r t - n o l e s i o n t h y m u s - no l e s i o n

Page 12: Necropsy- Killer Whale Kahana

? , z c c s s i c n n u n b e r : 91T5-87 P.nimal number : 115 3 7 7 5 3 2

XK. s k e l e t a l m u s c l e - no l e s i o n t h y r o i d g l a n d - n o l e s i o n

LL. s k e l e t a l m u s c l e - n o l e s i o n

MM. l i v e r - m i n i m a l h e p a t o c y t i c v a c u o l i z a t i o n ; e x p a n s i o n o f s p a c e o f D i s s e , o c c a s i o n a l f o c a l a c c u m u l a t i o n o f m o n o n u c l e a r l e u c o c y t e s .

N N . p e l v i c iympn node - s i i g h i erieilld

1. a n t e r i o r cervical s p i n a l c o r d - m i n i m a l h e m o r r h a g e i n q r e y m a t t e r a r o u n d c e n t r a l c a n a l , m i n i m a l s p o n q y c h a n g e i n w h i t e m a t t e r w h i c h is i n d i s t i n g u i s h a b l e f rom e a r l y a u t o i y s i s .

2 . c e r e b e l l a r c o r t e x - no l e s i o n I

3 . c e r e b e l l u m , c h o r o i d p l e x u s , m e d u l l a - h e m o r r h a g e i n m e n i n g e s

4 . v e r m i s o f c e r e b e l l u m - c o n g e s t e d m e n i n g e a l v e s s e l s w i t h f o c a l m e n i n g e a l hemor rhage

5 . p o s t e r i o r c o l l i c u l u s - n o l e s i o n

6 . l e f t c e r e b r u m - e x t e n s i v e m e n i n g e a l h e m o r r h a g e

7 . t h a l a m u s - no l e s i o n

8 . r o o f o f 3 r d v e n t r i c l e - h e m o r r h a g e , m a i n l y p e r i v a s c u l a r , i n w h i t e m a t t e r

9 . cerebra l c o r t e x - no l e s i o n

1 0 . l e f t c e r e b r a l c o r t e x - e x t e n s i v e m e n i n g e a l h e m o r r h a g e o v e r s u r f a c e a n d e x t e n d i n g down s u l c i , p e r i v a s c u l a r h e m 0 r r h a g e . i . n u n d e r l y i n g w h i t e m a t t e r o f ,, g y r u s .

11. 1c:fc c e r e b r a l c o r t e x ( a c o u s t i c a r e a ) - 11c. l e s i o n

1 2 . r i g h t c e r e b r u m - no l e s i o n

13. r i g h t c e r e b r a l c o r t e x ( . r ) c c i p i t a l ) - m i n i m a l m e n i n g e a l h e m o r r h a g e

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;-.ccession n u m b e r : 91T5-87 A n i m a l n u m b e r : 116 2 7 7 5 3 2

Diaqnoses: - #

1. intestinal neurofibroma 2 . granulomatous pneumonia, focal, mycotic 3 . meningeal hemorrhage, multifocal of varying severity 4. hepatitis, multifocal, minimal

-

D.V.M., Ph.x. Veterinary Pathologist

RRC: tc

Ref: RRC1/91T5-87.SW

Page 14: Necropsy- Killer Whale Kahana

Dr. Nancy Fos te r Di rec tor . , O f f i c e o f Protected Resources

and H a b i t a t Programs. N a t i o n a l Marine F i sherles Serv ice 1 3 - r r - 1 # I 1 * ' .. -

~ ~ ~ ~ i o ~ ~ ~ ~ =.ZDU Dear Dr. Foster :

This responds t o your request f o r a d d i t i o n a l i n f o r m a t i o n p e r t a i n i n g t o the death o f a k i l l e r whale a t our San An ton io f a c i l i t y . We would a l s o l i k e t o comment b r i e f l y on a l e t t e r t o the Se rv i ce f rom t h e Ha r i ne Mammal C o m i ssion.

F i r s t , we have submi'tted w i t h t h i s l e t t e r the f o l l ow ing documents which you have spec i f i ed :

o ~ a r r a t i v e desc r i p t i on o f observa t ions b y t h e Sea World s e c u r i t y o f f i c e r who observed t he animal s i ' n ques t ion ;

o Laboratory repor ts re1 a t i ng t o t h e n e u r o f i broma, i n c l u d i n g John M. P le t che r , DVM, MPH and Rober t 8. Moel l e r , DVM, Armed Forces I n s t i t u t e o f Pa tho logy . Hashington. D.C., and R. C ra i g Platenberg, HD, ( M R I Repor t ) ;

o Communications from a d d i t i o n a l medica l e x p e r t s : Sam H . Ridgway, DVH, PhD; C l i f f o r d J . Hixson, VMD; Wayne R. Pat terson, PhD; D. L. Chumley, MD; and Steven Schenker, MD

o A copy o f the APHIS r e p o r t . ..

Sea' World. Inc. 7007 Sea World Drive Orlando. FL 328218097 (407) 363-2155

Page 15: Necropsy- Killer Whale Kahana

- . . . - . - . . . .

Throughout our inves t iga t ion , we have been thorough, u t l l i z i n g ve t e r lna r l ans and other lnd lv ldua ls i n the medical f i e l d . I t I s tf1e combined judgment of these exper t s . both i n s i d e and outsiGe of S E ~ Horld, t h a t led us t o our oplnions and conclusions regarding the cause o f t h e a n l m l ' s death. Again. t he experts we have r e l i e d upon include t h e following:

Lesl i e H. Dalton, DVH S t a f f Veterinarian Sea World o f Texas San Antonio, TX 78251

Ronald Crawl ey, DVH Veter lnary P a t h o l q i s t Universl t y of Texas Health Science Center San Antonlo, TX 78284

Gary Anderson, DVM Veter inar ian Lackland Air Force Base a

San Antonio, TX 78236

John M. Pletcher , OW, HPH Robert B . Moeller, DVM ( i n consul t a t i on with t h e Neuropathol ogy Department) Armed Forces I n s t i t u t e of Pathology Hashi ngton, DC- 20306

Sam H . Ridgway, OW, PhD Naval Ocean Systems Center San Di ego, CA 92152

Dr. James McBain S r . S ta f f Veterinarian Sea Horld of Cal i fornia San Diego, CA 92109-9980

He have considered a l l of t he points r a i s ed by the Marine Mammal Comis s ion . Our de l ibera t ions a r e r e f l e c t i v e of a p ro fe s s iona l , competent and de ta i led i nqu i ry and we s tand by our opinions and conc lus ions .

Regarding the Conmission's comments about the animals thorac ic c z v i t y , t h e f a c t t ha t no source f o r the apparent mediast inal hemorrhage was i d e n t i f i e d d i s t i n c t l y ind ica ted the lack of involvement of any l a rge blood vesse l s . The amount of blood involved was s u f f i c i e n t t o pr3duce the suffusion hemorrhage a s descr ibed i n our r e p o r t . Hy correspondence on July 1 1 , 1991. t h a t the " l i k e l y cause of t h i s hemorrhage was trauma t o mediast inal t i s s u e caused by the sudden

, dece l e r a t i on of the r e l a t i v e l y la rge cetacean hea r t " i s a good f ~ i t h a t t empt , by a number of professionals, t o desc r ibe what appears t o have been the most l i ke ly scenar io t o have r e su l t ed in the les ion noted.

Archiv~d 2: TCnp C~CF Y-oipc: w. th~~rcmro,i~c:. COT

Page 16: Necropsy- Killer Whale Kahana

The bleedlng tha t produced t h l s leslon was o f . c a p l l l a r y orlgln and not the r e s u l t of esophageal lacera t ion . laceration of any other type, o r trauma from outs ide the thorax. I f any o ther cause f o r the hemorrhage would have seemed l i k e l y , our reports would have indicated t h i s . In any event, we can s t a t e with confidence tha t no foreign object was present a t the necropsy. As we have s ta ted before, we have no indica t ion of aggressive behavior tha t would have caused a co l l i s ion wi th a pool wall.

As previously s t a t e d , the o ther whales were inspected a f t e r the death of t h e i r companion.- Nothing unusual was detected during the exam1 nation r e a d r l n u f u r t e r observatlon o r treatment: consequent1 v there i s no documenta-tion of the examination. Also, contrary t o the information recent ly received by the Marine Hamal Commission, there i s no survei! lance video cf t he an!rnzl's death.

F ina l ly , we did not s t a t e o r imply tha t t h e neurofibroma was ma1 ignant. Detai ls about the tumor are contained in the necropsy repor t .

This concludes our report on the death of the k i l l e r whale iden t i f i ed as SHF-00-7803. Two copies of the marine mammal col 1 ect ion/inventory repor t are at tached.

S incere ly ,

p% & Brad Andrews Vice President Zoo1 ogi cal Operat ions

Attachments

Page 17: Necropsy- Killer Whale Kahana

* win: ~t a p p c o ~ t e ~ y MOQhcb a 14 M Y 91, Otfioer 11 ~ ' ~ m duty rt w w i ~ .

ml+ w duty 1* 13 dmmd of a tuo M r filler mu thrabhiq in tha vbter. Cdl] start& vcUriw t w d Uw b& arw of a right holding pool md mid m -4 M e oonw up out of t h o v r t r t at & gate that d i v i b r tho riqht and left pool6 (ha gat'

nore pointing UP# and *pit up me* b l d r the m e VU. t,.kaaMrq in &e water dl &iq t h e incidpnt. wnt t o th. haiP1c8 b u i l d i ~ ud l a w t 4 [ ~ ~ ~ ~ 3 v l 8 tk t*l*ph~n or at incident. A t spprox~rmtaly ~ l ~ h r * < i i c c ~ L* a? uriw r t 6- a*Dm. L-1; u-d 1 bqbn loddng foc the F a d e Whale end cuuld not find h w , d w to the r a t e r i th pwl being Wfy clody ud dibtwbod. The oth*r Ude rrd Famd4 Ifhalea vem tward t h front of the t i g h t pl calm Mb fioatirq err tM &&a. 5M i n j d F-1. m a l e uc undorwrtar and W hot 4 ~ ~ f r c e d . A t oxi irately 0618htr m, DAn/CUWiTCR arrived at N~SADIM. [ * 1 1 b d v l s e d ~ C f O f i n c i k n t anQC'I], [ * 1 3 , Famkqm 1 c s k i . q fw t b i n j u r i e d P o d * Whsle. Lal] VU hblt t o e p t the injutled €4~ -la in the wp te r of the right ,d- a_n4 ct th la t!= ths vkttrr M c1-4 eras$-, to with f i u h - lights. ["I] asked KKf? if ha Vould l i k e ( ~ ; ~ @ * ~ t o sakr furthac &mcgtncy notifications. ma s o p l i d yea.& a d 4 t o coiltact Y W , - ma ~ U Z P X T of N Q I ~ U ~ XI= m tf1C;DtULt - atM?tXl= notlfi-tiocra u r n mccbr bylj>;tt-a%GJvie thl) tdlepban- [Security details -------------. --------------------------------- . I

Page 18: Necropsy- Killer Whale Kahana

I . CONSULTATION REPORT ON CONTRIBUTOR MATERIAL I

!-!c",.: 37-;.: I-."; 37 D;IF?!<C;E. - - . . .,; 7 : . : , . 7 : r .;.. .;, < ':.. :,.-..~, ; .:>< .. - .

. , . ,5d- . - : . - - - - - . . .: ., .- :I. 2 . b -; .'<,'.i - - --.

. * 6 . X JZ L . 0 A : c . > h 1 ?;.TiENi ;;jLX! If I ~ X i I O t 4

A F I P DIAGNOSIS: 11 6377532 1 . I n t e s t i n e : Gang1 ioneuromatosi s , k i l l e r whale, cetacean. 2. Lung: Granuloma, caseonec ra t i c , f o c a l l y ex tens ive , severe, w i t h

. . .. . -. . I.---..

f u n g ? l nyphae c o n s l s t e n r ~ 1 1 t h Asper -g l l lus sp. ana za j zcen t qrdnulomatous i n f l a m n a t i o n . . . 3. Grain, meninges: zemorrllcge, m u l t i f o c a l , n i lc . 4. L i v s r : H e p e t i t i s , nccro ; iz ing , acute, a u l t i f x z l , m i n i m a l .

1 CPU -v

Dr . Les D a l t o n jhP/i?BM/rnab Sea Wor ld o f Texas 10500 Sea Elo'rld D r i v e DATE: 19 June 1991 San Anton io , TX 78251

1 UHU IC 4 ( D W ( ~ T .

C.oment: - T h i s case was rev iewed by t ! ~ Clepartrnents o f V e t e r i n a r y ' Patho logy , ~ e ~ r o : , c t h o l o ~ ~ and.. 'G3strointek t i n a l ~ a t l l a l ogy. T t i ~ cause o f .ths abnor;nal behzv io r of t h i s x n a l e p r i o r i o death c a u l d no t 52 i 6 2 n i i i i e 3 I l i s r : o l o g i c a l l y . The i n t e s t i n a l

'

$?n.?i i o n e u r o n ~ t o s i s :.:as c h z r a c t e r i z e t by gro;ri if ient bundles o f spinci le c e l 1 s i n f i 1 t r a t i ng i n t o . the t u n i c a 1nu~cu1 a r i s . r n a set-3sa. Scd r te red &?angst r i iese . sp ina l e ' c e l l s Here i n d i v i d u a l g a n g l i o n c e l l s . The s p i n d l e c e i l s :/ere 5-100 p o s i t i v e . The f o c a l grznuloma i n t he lunos c o n t a i n ? d nurn2raus f ~ l n g z l l l yph i which are c o n s i s t e n t w i t h Asper i l l u s sp. Al though A s p e r g i l l u s i n f e c t i o n s can be s ? r i o u s i n wh?ies, t h i s l e s i o n wzs roca and w e l i ?ncapsulated. Tnc f i e m o r r h ? y i n rhe CiIS may hav? r e s u l t e d f rom t n e + t r z u ~ z - o f c o l l i d i n s w i t n the poo l x z 1 ' .

- - ut-w- . C MU-

2324588-9 1

k n i m z l s a f f e c t e d w i t h i n t e s t i n a l gangl ioneuroimatasis have demons t r .a te .d . c l i n i ca~ s i g n s o f c o n s t i p a t i o n and tenesmus. I n man, t h i s neoplasm has been associa ' ted w i t h a t ype .

o f f z r n i l i a l . m u l t i p l e endocr ine neop las ia , k:hich i n c l u d e s pheochromocytorna and medul ! a r y t h y r o i d carcinoma, an3 von Reck 1 inghausen's d i sease (neu ro f i bro r r~a tos i s ) . I n d i v i d u a l s a f f e c t e d are u s u a l l y asyrnptomaric b u t can show symptoms o f c o n s t i p a t i o n , cra-qs 2 n d I c r a b d m i n a l d i s t e n s i o n . Acerher such s i s n s i n a wndle would cause e r r a t i c sw imn i r~g and a c o l l i s i o n i s unknown. Thank you f o r submi t c ing ' t h i s i n r e r e s t i n g case t o t he i egis try' o f V e t e r i n a r y Pa tho logy .

. ' J 794;t ,@&4? JOH:: 11. P L E T C H ~ ~ , 0Vr.1, MPH, Co lone l . VC. USA

-- ' -

00

Chairman, Department o f V e t e r i n a r y ~ z f h o l o ~ ~ '

U M SIsr

A!i IMAL, CETACEAN WHALE A-000 -9 1 T

S W G I C A U A U T O W P A T H A C X X S Y O r * X

-EASE M W U ~ S W AW r4rqw-1 O E M T ~ C A T . O ~ t a w s

ROBERT B. MOELLER, DVm LTC, VC, USA

I

Department o f V e t e r i n a r y Pa tho logy

Page 19: Necropsy- Killer Whale Kahana

;..i.>- : '.- .- . . < .'-.:,:. 2. :.:> >5:::..: 5

S U B J : ' O R ~ . - ffRI TO: Les Dal:on DVH

TECHNLQU E : H u l t i p l e s p ~ n echo and g r a d i e c : e c h o s e q u e n c e s were donc on 2

GE 1 . 5 T e s s l a SICNA s y s t e m . T1 w e i g h t e d s a g i t t a l , a x l a l and c o r o n a l v i e w s w e r e u n d e r t a k e n w l t h iP./TE of 600-650 /20 m s e c s . 1; w e i g h t e d a x i a l v i e w s w e r e done c i t h TR/TE of 3 , 0 0 0 / 3 0 , 8 0 m s e c s . SPCR images w i t h a f l i p a n g l e o f 5 0 d e g r e e s , TR/TE 3 7 / 9 a n d CAE lmages w i t h a f l i p a n g l e o f 45 d e g r e e s a n d TR/TEof 27/12 were a l s o o b t a i n e d .

FINDINGS: A s o l i t a r y p u n c t a t e a r e a o f i n c r e a s e d s i g n a l on T2 c e i g h t e d i m a g e s

i s n o t e d i n t h e r i g h t t h a l z n u s . T h i s o b s e r v a t i o n i n hunans c o r r e s p o n d s d l d is ted V X Z ~ ~ ~ t 3 3 G=.! i ~ ~ h ~ r h p n ; a

o r g l i o s l s which i s u s u a l l y s e e n i n h y p e r t e n s i v e i n d i v i d u s l s . The s i g n i f i c a n c e o f t h i s f i n d i n g i n t h e O r c a s p e c i e s i s unknown. ::o a a s s , m a s s e f f e c t , s i g n i f i c a n t s i g n a l a b n o r m a l i t y n o r 8:~;s a n ~ t o z i c ; symmet ry w e r e d e t e c t e d .

IMPRESSION: K O s i g n i f i c a n t a n a t o m i c 2 b n o r ~ ~ ! i t y . N o KRI e v i d e n c c f c r i L l e c t i o n .

n e o p l a s i a nor hemor rhage .

T h a n k y o e f o r t h i s n o s t i n t e r e s t i n g o p p o c t u n ! t y t o a s s i s ; you i ~ , y o u r e v a l u a t i o n o f t h i s 2rnazing s p e c i e s . . I f i may b c of f v r c ~ ~ r 5e1?. p l e ~ s e f e e l f r e e to c o n t a c t me.

S i n c e r e l y ,

R . C r a i g

Page 20: Necropsy- Killer Whale Kahana

- 1 l t c tJnivcrsi(y 01 To-as: Health Science G n t e r at Saa A n t ~ d o 7703 Floyd Curl Drive

I Sar! Antunio, 7-txi is 76263-7876

Department of M d c i n c D;ricrion of Ga6trocn:olo;n. and Nutrition

August 23, 1991

Dr. Les Dalton Veterinarian SEA WORLD S t r , Antcilio, Tcx&

FAX NO. 523-3739

T ~ i s is a follow up on you: 1;lephan.- ,- . el1 cozczr.nl~;g r l ~ c d a b c>f rhc ivhzle :I. Sca \V~: i t ! .

As I understand I r , O I I au:opry a 6 x 3 cnl runwr, spznniug 1/3 irf LIIC ci~.cu~nrersl~ct of the rm'dlj IntcSinc, wzs found. This runlor 2pparzn:ly invacl.2 the muscul;ir-ir and dle serosz. Appacrzdy h i s XG 2

ncurocndocr ine tumor.

me quesrion is whether such a ruinor c-11 cluse pzill which, in turn, u.ruld rzsui: i l l ekciiclllel>t of rhc

znimal and s m n d a r y injury. Obviously I hwe no expcricnn wid1 whalcs (clhough my collmgucs 1x1 rhzr 1 a1.n a 'whale of a clouor'). However, cxu;lpola(ing from humnn rncdicinc. ~~zr l ia l @l!siructio: f1011l

thc tumor a u l d cause dis12mion of tlic bowel and thus pain. This would be rhe lust likcly cnusz of any pain p r a e n t in S U ~ I a slru:tion. Concei~xh!y, invul \ .~~nzr ,~ o l pzin receptor5 in 2 suctc>d bowel wall could be mother mechanism of pzin. Small boivcl runlors in pztients often u e sileni znd dift-icolt 10

d ? ~ e c t unless rllcy bleed or cause ohsrnrc~lo~~ wit11 pzin. T n u b , whilr 1 caiirrui s 2 j ~har l!lz cilale Ilzc pa in , dlis could havz b c n t ! c probleln.

Good wishes..

Sincerely,

Stevcn Schcnkcr, M.D. Professor of M-cilclnc ~ n d Pharmacology Chief, Division of Gaxcou;tcrology

and Nutrition Staff Plrysician, Audic L. Murplly

Memorial Voteram' Hospital

SS/am

c'c: John P. Howc. M.D.. President

Page 21: Necropsy- Killer Whale Kahana

September 3 , 1991

To: D r Les Dal ton Seaworld o f Texas

RE: p a i n A s s o c i a t e d With Small B o w e l Tumors

It is t h e f e e l i n g of Dr Wayne P a t t e r s o n and myself t h a t a small bowel tumor of n e u r a l o r i g i n c o u l d , i n some cases, cause p a i n , e s p e c i a l l y i f t h e tumor impa i r ed bowel f u n c t i o n r e s u l t i n g i n s t r a n g u l a t i o n .

L- ~ i ~ l o r n a k : Aner ican C o l l e g e o f Xre t e r ina ry P ~ t h o l o g i s r s

. . ;ayn/e R . P a t t e r s a n , P h - D . 3epu ty D i r e c t o r , C l i n i c a l 'Research 7 , + ~ l l f o r d H a l l USXF M e d i a l C e n t e r

Page 22: Necropsy- Killer Whale Kahana

3 1. Cxumley. h4.D J Thcmas %on. t4.D b h i c k A Masters. M D

L c s D a l t o n , D . V . 5 . S e a World o f Texas 1 5 5 0 3 Sea World D r i v e 5:: A ~ t z z 3 , ~ . T e z e - 7 f i > 5 l

Dza: DT. D a l t o n :

I 2 3 v r i t i n g t 3 - .?er i fy 6:) p r e . ; i ~ u s c c z v e r s a t i o n w i t h y o u . 5ascC upon my . .

t r a i n i p g a n d e x p e r i e n c z and t k ? a s d i c z l l i c e r s t u r e , i t i s n y o p ~ a ~ o n t h a t ne - : agen ic t u m o r s which i n . ~ o ! v z t h e ;a3il 5 o v e l c s n p r o d u c e n o t o n l y m e l c n c 6 c d * i n c u s a i l s c e p t i o n bc: a ! s 3 ~ b d o x i a a i p s i n . f u r t h e r m o r ~ , c h i s p a i n c a n b c

t r a n s i e n t and c - l i c k y i n n a c c r ? o r say be v e r y s e v e r e d e p e n d i n g upon t b ? . .

l o c ~ c i ~ n and s i ' z e 0 5 t h 2 a c a r c g s n i c cumor. T n e s e sympcons c a n o r l ~ ~ n a c c F r 3 m

a r y n e u r s g e n i c t amor s z c h e s - ? a r o f I 5 r o r n a . g a n g 1 i a n e u ; o i n ~ o r n e u r i l c n o c s .

Page 23: Necropsy- Killer Whale Kahana

To: D r . Les Dal ton V e t e r i n a r i a n Sea World o f Texas San ~ n t o n i o , ; T X T e l . 5 1 2 5231-3278 Fax: 512 5 2 3 3299

Fron: D r . Sam ~ i h g w a ~ NOSC . - - L w a e ~ L O / San ~ i e g o , CA 92152 F E X : 61s 5 5 3 1355 T e l : 619 553 1374

P l e z s e a c c e p t r ~ y 22olcqy f o r tzklng s o l o n 5 t o cjet you s o z e t h i n g i n w r i t i n g conce rx l2g t h e k i l l e r xh.212 b r a i n u e e e z n i n e d i n t h e conpany of D r . P l ~ t t e n h e r g , 2 r . s u r o l o ~ i s t f r o n ,

K i l f o r d Hz11 Medical C e n t e r , l a s t Xzy. You i d e n t i f i e d t h e b r a i n t o ne z s f r o a a female of S C 6 C X I , 2 0 7 5 j : ~ cna 1 4 t o 1 6 y e a r s o f zqe h z v i n g . b e e n zzken i n I c e l z n d i c w r t e r s 2: 2 vcuzg'age i n 1 9 7 8 . T T ~ E z n i n a l . hzd been a t Sez l l c r l d f ~ c i 1 i c i e . s s i r , ce t 3 2 t t i m e . The

. S r z i n wzs f i x e d in f o r n a l i n znd c z r e z ~ - ~ - 2 1 frcz t h c f i x x e i g h e d 6 2 9 9 g . As you r-.zy r e c a l l , . ye s e c t i c ~ e d . the b r z i n i n slices 0 2 a b o u t 1 cn and examined ezeh s l i ce t h c r o u g h l y . The p z t h o l o g i s t t o o k s e v e r a l spec imens f o r ~ i c r o s c o p i c e x c n i n z z i o n . Ny e x z ~ i ~ a t i o n o f t h e f i x e d b r z i z reveal^? no q r c s s ~ t n o r r ~ a l i t i e s ,

L. - - 2s I n e n t i o n e d zt t h e ~ o 5 ~ l ~ : i a n cf ~ : : 2 i n s s ? c ~ i c 2 ZT;C I n o u r sz:bsequent t e l e p h o n e converse: ionz.

Fe hzve d i s c u s s e d your :scro?sy r ~ r s r t ( ISS i iT -00-7203) . T?:E i n t e s t i n a l r i ~ u r o f i b r o z z is t h e firs: r e F o r t s d f r o 3 a v h a l e . C e r t a i n l y it is worthy o f c z r s f u l c o n s i e e r 2 t i o : 2s t o t h e w d e r l y i n g c a u s e of d e a t h . Over f i f t y t u n o r s ka:c 3 e s n r e p o r t e d . , . ~ o s t l y f o r n w i l d cn ima l s o r s t r z n d e d c e t a c e a n s , 3 ~ r n e v z r t h i s

, . 2 x z s t k i n d . ' P o s s i b l y pai!: iro:n t h e zilaor coc ;e t ;?~r x i t h t h e r ~ p t u r e o f . f o c a l granulomacocs l u z g l e s i o n s cocld ksve r s s u l t e d i n v i o l e n t , l i k e l y i nvo lu r l t 2 ry , z c t i v i t y c t d e ~ t ? . Tne l a c k of q r o s s danzge t o t h e b r a i n s u q y e s t s t i ~ z ; the rr;t.r:i.r;qezl h e x u r r l i a g e x s s z c u t e l y t e r m i n a l o r evEn 2gon2 l .

Sam H . Ridgway DK

Page 24: Necropsy- Killer Whale Kahana

I 1 1 . I I 1 J - 1 I I I

I ! 0- I ( ' 1 I -+ I 1 I I

t-a I I I I

- 2 I I C l o ' I I I I I I c a I I - IU I I I I I I I

I - I I I 1 I I I I I I

U1- I I I I I I I

-u 1 l Q I 4 1 0 I I I I 1 I I

o I l 4 E l L I I I I I I I I ( C o t 1 1 I I I I I . I

d: I I ' I I I I 1 0 I I I I I I I

I I I I I I I I I - I '--I0 I I I I I I t- 1 m 1 c o c e l - r 1 I I I I I I

I 1 I -I 1 I I I I I I I I I I ' I I I

0 1 - I r g 1 1 C I I I I I I I I '. I L a J I Q I 1 I I I 1 I

I I I I I I I I I I I I

I I I I I I I I I I - - - f - - t - - T - - T - - f - - T - - f - - T - - T - - T - - u + I I I I I I I I I I ~a I I a I , I I I I I I

3 5 I a 1 I I I I I I . I . . I u - I a I

I 4 I I t I I I I - - - 1 T - - r - - f - - T - - T - - T - - T - - , - - - T - - T - - I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I ' I I I I

I I I I I I I . I I I I I I . I

o u I ,- I I I I I I I I I t - C I L I I I I I I I I 1 '

C 3 1 w o l O I I 1 I I I I I I.

I I I I . I I I I d m I 3 . 1 I I I 1 I I 1 I J I I I I I I I I I I

a'= I a I I I I I I I I I U 0 1 aJ I I I I 1 I 1 I I

I I I I I I I I " - I ' 1 I I I I I I I - - - + - - r - - r - - r - - r - - r - - r - - T - - r - - - - -

I I I I I I I I 1 - 1

.I I I I I I I I I I I I . I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I

. W I I I I I I I I I I w O f I I ' I I I I I I I

1 0 3 1 I I 1 I I I I I

G z c 1 I I I I I I I I I t - G - 1 I I I I I I I I I '

I I I I I I 1 1 k u Z I I I I I I I I I .

I I 1 I I I I I

I 1 I I I I I I . Z z I I I I I I I - I

I I I I I I r - w a I I I I I I a I I

I I I I I I I I c c t - I 7 I I I I I I I I I U J - I Q) I I I I I I I 1 1 O a c I I I I I I I I

I I I I I I I

1 I I I I I I I I I I I I 1 1 I I I I I I I I I I I I I I 1 . I I I I I I I I I I I I I I . I I I 1 I 1 I

- - - t - - + - - t - - t - - + - - t - - t - - , - - - t - - r - . - L J W I = I I I I I I I ' I I ' L ~ I --I I I I I I I 1 . 1 C F I I I I I ' I I I I I

I I I I I - t - I 03 I - - + - .".---I t - - T - - r - - r - - T - - t - - r - - 7 - - 1 . 1

u a 1 I I I I . O W 1 ' 1

I I I I I I I I I 1 I I 1.

w C l C D I I I I I I I 1. I

Page 25: Necropsy- Killer Whale Kahana

DEPARTMEST OF COMPARATIVE ASD EXPERIMESTAL PATHOLOGY

I THE UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA

C c l l c ~ c of \ c ;cr~nar! !.!c:.;snc PO BOA 1WI;J Caincr\illc. Florida .':6104lI:! .,

(W) 392-1221 (9o.r) 392-5426 FAX

September 2 4 , 1991

Mr. A r t J e f f e r s O f f i c e o f P r o t e c t e d Resources Un i t ed S t a t e s ~ e ~ a r t m e n t o f Commerce N a t i o n a l Oceanic and Atmospher ic A d m i n i s t r a t i o n N a t i o n a l Mar ine F i s h e r i e s S e r v i c e 1335 Eas t West Highway. S i l v e r S p r i n g , MD 20910

i D e a r Mr. J e f f e r s : . . .

Thank you f o r t a k i n g t h e t i m e t o t a l k t o me t o d a y . A s I ment ioned i n o u r phone c o n v e r s a t i o n , D r . Ruth F r a n c i s - F l o y d p r o v i d e d c o p i e s of t h e n e c r o p s y r e p o r t s and l e t t e r s a s s o c i a t e d w i t h t h e d e a t h s o f t h e two k i l l e r wha le s a t t h e Sea World F a c i l i t i e s l o c a t e d i n Texas and F l o r i d a t o me. I . i n d e p e n d e n t l y rev iewed t h e s e documents and b e l i e v e t h a t t h e d e a t h s o f t h e s e two a n i m a l s were n o t r e l a t e d . The f a c t s a r e p r e s e n t e d c l e a r l y and h o n e s t l y . I c a n n o t d e t e c t any e v i d e n c e t o s u g g e s t t h a t i n f o r m a t i o n h a s been knowingly o m i t t e d .

The c a u s e o f d e a t h i n t h e whale l o c a t e d i n F l o r i d a seems c l e a r c u t , a s g r o s s nec ropsy f i n d i n g s , a l o n g w i t h h i s t o p a t h o l o g i c a l o b s e r v a t i o n s and c u l t u r e r e s u l t s s u p p o r t t h e d i a g n o s i s of a c u t e , s e v e r e , n e c r o t i z i n g pneumonia due t o Pseudomonas SJ., a w e l l r e c o g n i z e d pa thogen . A l though s e v e r a l p r e d i s p o s i n g c o n d i t i o n s m y a l l o w t h i s organism t o grow, it is o f t e n n o t p o s s i b l e t o . i d e n t i f y t h e s e c i r c u m s t a n c e s by t h e t i m e a n a n i m a l becomes c l i n i c a l l y ill.

The cause o f d e a t h of t h e wha le a t t h e Texas f a c i l i t y is less s t r a i g h t f o r w a r d - The o b s e r v a t i o n s of t h e s e c u r i t y g u a r d and t h e l e s i o n s found a t n e c r o p s y s u p p o r t t h e d i a g n o s i s of trauma a s t h e immedia te c a u s e o f d e a t h . I d o n ' t b e l i e v e , however, t h e r e a s o n f o r t h i s a n i m a l ' s v i o l e n t b e h a v i o r p r i o r t o d e a t h can be d e t e r m i n e d w i t h c e r t a i n t y . A s i n t h i s c a s e , gang l ioneu ro rnas h a v e p r i m a r i l y o c c u r i n younger a n i m a l s . Some o f t h e c l i n i c a l s i g n s a s s o c i ' a t e d w i t h i n t e s t i n a l gang l ioneu romas d e s c r i b e d i n a n i m a l s i n c l u d e s t r a i n i n g , c o n s t i p a t i o n , o r gaseous d i l a t a t i o n o f t h e i n t e s t i n e s . Whi le I k n o ~ of n o c a s e i n which v i o l e n t behav io r o c c u r r e d b e c a u s e of t h e p r e s e n c e o f a g a n g l i o n e u r o m a , I would n o t a b s o l u t e l y r u l e o u t t h i s p o s s L t i l i t y . Though I would p e r s o n a l l y p r e f e r t o s a y t h a t t h e cause o f t h e a p p a r e n t l y s e l f - i n d u c e d t rauma c o u l d n o t b e d e t e r m i n e d a t n e c r o p s y , r e l a t i n g t h e s e f i n d i n g s is a r e a s o n a b l e i n t e r p r e ' a t i o n .

Thank you f o r p e r m i t t i n g m e t o r e v i e w t h i s i n f o r m a t i o n

' S i n c e r e l y , I

L o i s Ro th , D . V . M . , Ph .D .

LR: jgm Dip loma te , A . C . V P

f i rz9iv4 F: T+m Trcp nroi~c: ~ m m f . * ? m a r c ~ a r ~ i m r J * . . ~ ~ ~

1 J Hill15 Millcr Hcalth Scicncc Ccntcr - Insriru!~ 0 1 Food and Agr~culrural S c ~ c n c c s

Page 26: Necropsy- Killer Whale Kahana

H A M M O N D C O N S U L T A N T S , I N C . ANIMAL SPECIALISTS

123 N. STECKEL DR. SANTA PAULA. CA. 93060

TEL: (835) 525-9544 Fax# (805) 643-0490

Ms. Ann Terbush, Chief, Permit Division U.S. Department of Commerce, OPR, NMFS, NOAA Permlt Division, -SSMCI, Room 7324 1335 East-West Hlg hway Sllver Sprlng, MD 20910

September 24, 1991

.Dear Ms. ferbush:

I have reviewed the material you sent to me concerning the death of a Killer Whale at Sea World of Florlda and a second animal's death at Sea World of San Antonlo, Texas. I have also had Informal talks with some of the Sea World anlmal husbandry and veterlnarlan staff.

There appears to be three areas of review concerning the deaths of these two Killer Whales:

a. Is the death of Killer Whale SWC 007602 due to an infective process? b. Is the death of Killer Whale SWC 007803 due to trauma, and i f so, was It self

Induced? c. Are there any anlmal husbandry or veterinarian policies or procedures thet

merit changlng?

Revlew of Necropsy reports of Klller Whale SWC OG7602 (animal died b g u s t 6, 1991 at S_ea World of Florida).

1. The necropsy was conducted In the presence of several competent professlonals. The tissue samples were sent to publlcly funded faclllties that are well known for their ~~nb lased work. n

2. The description of the gross pathology, histopathology and bacteriology confirm that the Klller Whale SWC 00-7602 died from bacterial pneumonla that was the result of a termlnai overwhelmlng septicemla and pulmonary anoxla. , r - ' ~ 0 ' pL.

/ \ n R n R n ~ . ~ ~ m o r c P a r O i m P , ~ . c O ~ ~ ~

Page 27: Necropsy- Killer Whale Kahana

Revlew of Necropsy reports of Klller Whale SWC 00-7803 (animal died May 14, 1991 at Sea W d d of San Antonlo, Texas.

1. The etlology of the death of this animal Is from trauma and the resultlng Injuries It suffered. The source of the trauma had to be sushnled from a vloient Impact. I f the two accompanylng whales had been involved In traumatlzlng this whale, all anlmais connected wlth the encounter would have had some degree of injury. Physical examination of the two surviving whales did not show any signs of trauma. The whale 00-7803 had none of the classic U e" mark inp caused from teeth ra- The descriptions given in the necropsy report and the night watchman are all in keeping wlth self Induced trauma.

2. The assumption has to be made that whale SWC 00-7803 died from trauma it received when the animal struck its body against the wall@) of the pool resultlng In It own death. The difficulty remains as to how to account l o r the animal's behavlor resulting in striking its body against the pool wall. The necropsy and hlstopathology reports confirmed the presence of a small tumor. There are medical reports that this cell type (see various pathology reports in this brief), has in some species, produced sever pain. I f the tumor was malignant or not is academic at this point since there was only one tumor found. The question remains i f this tumor could crate sufficient pain to cause the anlmal to traumatize itself resulting in its own death.

I find that the most probable working hypothesis Is that the presence of the tumor could have caused a functional colic condition as well as produclng a primary source of pain. I experienced "colic" behavjor in a killer whale In Hong Kong. This anlmal would have sustained substantial bodily harm to itself had we not dralned the pooi and restrained .the whale. A functional obstruction Is one In which there Is no torsion or physical blockage of the Intestinal tract. A section of intestines lacks motility and/or is in muscle spasm resultlng in gas formation within the intestinal tract. This symptom alone Is sufficient to cause excruciating pain similar to thbt seen in horses with colic.

Based upon the information given and having experienced treating a Killer Whale with colic, I feel the correct diagnosis has been made of death dl le to skull fractures and blood loss. The whale had experienced excruclatlng pain in part or as the sole resuit of a tumor of neural orlgln. A resulting "collc like" condition developed causing the whale striking its head and body against the pooi wall. I

Page 28: Necropsy- Killer Whale Kahana

Review of Anlmal Husbandary Procedures and Pracitices at Sea World:

Sea World has had a marlne breedlng program for several years. Thelr dolphln breeding program has produced some 35 calves. In fact, Sea World has not had to capture any dolphins for their performance or feedlng pools slnce the late 1970's. Thls Is by far the best breedlng program of any faclllty world wlde.

Sea World has undertaken to breed Killer Whales and, has had 7 s~~ccessful

of all Killer Whale calves In the wild die within the first 18 months of life, the longevity of the calves at Sea World Is exceptional.

When any killer Whale becomes ill or requires any unusual medical treatment, the veterinarian attending the whale immediately faxes ail pertinent Information to all other veterinarlans at the various parks in the Sea World complex. This affords the other veterinarians a chance to participate from the immediate onset of the problem to its conclusion. In addition, there are weekly telephone conference calls between all veterinaiians at all locations.

Each veterinarian responslble for marine mammals, visually checks his anlmals twice dally and meets with the trainers and lay staff at least.once a day. Routine physlcal and blood and b.low hole samples are taken at that tlme.

The success of the dolphin breeding program provides a strong indication of how successful the anlmal husbandry,program Is at the various Sea World locations.

I find no reason for Sea World Inc. to change any of Its procedures or policies regarding the husbandry of Killer Whale or Dolphin programs.

Sincerely yours,.," P '

Douglds (Ted) .Hammond D . v . ~

I P

Page 29: Necropsy- Killer Whale Kahana

U n i v e r s i t y of Florida

Instctute of Food and Agricultural Sciences

School of Forest Resources a n d Conservation

11 UnavcnsITy Of fLomIoA 1) DEPARTMENT OF FISHERIES AND AQUACULTURE

Telephone: 9041392-96 17 September 27 , 1991

7922 N.W. nsl street Gainesville. Florida 32WW300

M r . A r t J e f f e r s O f f i c e o f P r o t e c t e d R e s o u r c e s

c e a n i c a n N a t i o n a l Marine F i s h e r i e s S e r v i c e 1335 ' E a s t West Highway S i l v e r S p r i n g s , MD 2 0 9 1 0

Dear M r . J e f f e r s ;

A t your r e q u e s t , I have rev iewed t h e n e c r o p s y r e p o r t s and r e l a t e d co r r e spondence f o r k i l l e r w h a l e s #SWF-00-7803 and ,#SWC-00- 7602 which d i e d i n Sea World p a r k s e a r l i e r t h i s y e a r . With your p e r m i s s i o n , I forwarded t h i s i n f o r m a t i o n t o D r . L o i s Ro th , a board c e r t i f i e d v e t e r i n a r y p a t h o l o g i s t , f o r i n d e p e n d e n t r e v i e w ; D r . Roth w i l l forward h e r f i n d i n g s u n d e r s e p a r a t e c o v e r .

. Fol lowing c a r e f u l r e v i e w of a l l documents , it is my - o p i n i o n t h a t t h e r e is no a s s o c i a t i o n between t h e two d e a t h s . Each s l o r t a l i t y r e p r e s e n t e d a n i s o l a t e d i n c i d e n t , a n d , i n my o p i n i o n , n e i t h e r e v e n t c o u l d have been a n t i c i p a t e d o r p r e v e n t e d . It is a n u n f o r t u n a t e c o i n c i d e n c e t h a t t h e s e m o r t a l i t i e s o c c u r r e d w i t h i n a few months o f e a c h o t h e r , b u t I see n o l i n k a g e be tween them. From t h i s p o i n t o n I s h a l l d i s c u s s t h e two m o r t a l i t i e s s e p a r a t e l y .

The f i r s t i n c i d e n t i n v o l v e d a m a t u r e f e m a l e k i 1 l e . r whale (#SWF-00-7803) which d i e d s u d d e n l y , and t r a u m a t i c a l l y , on May'14, 1 9 9 1 n e a r 6:00 am. The e v e n t o c c u r r e d a t Sea World o f Texas . The i n c i d e n t was o b s e r v e d , a n d r e p o r t e d i m m e d i a t e l y , by s e c u r i t y s t a f f . Animal c a r e p e r s o n n e l a r r i v e d w i t h i n 10-15 m i n u t e s . Necropsy o f t h i s an imal was i ~ i t i a t e d w i t h i n t h r e e h o u r s o f d e a t h . P r o s e c t o r s i n c l u d e d an i n d e p e n d e n t v e t e r i n a r y p a t h o l o g i s t a n d a n indepenaen'c v e t e r i n a r i a n .

T h e r e seems l i t t l e d o u b t t h a t t h e immedia te c a u s e of d e a t h i n t h i s an ima l was head t r a u m a c a u s e d by c o l l i s i o n w i t h t h e c o n c r e t e p o o l w a l l . The p r i n c i p l e c b n c e r n , t h e r e f o r e , seems t o be what c a u s e d t h e whale t o b e h a v e i n s u c h a v i o l e n t , and u l t i m a t e l y f a t a l , manner . I

The s e c u r i t y r e p o r t seems t o a d e q u a t e l y r u l e o u t i n t e r a c t i o n w i t h o t h e r w h a l e s which might h a v e i r e s u l t e d i n f a t a l i n j u r y t o w h a l e t SWF-00-7803. The s e c u r i t y r e p o r t s t a t e s , " t h e o t h e r n a l e a n d f ema le w h a l e s were . . . v e r y ca lm , and f l o a t i p . g ~ , 0 , ~ , ~ ~ h ~ ~ ~ u / 5 ; f ~ ~ e , ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The In9,:ule ol fax and AgraAural Scaences is an Equal Enployrnc>t Opwnunlry - Atl~rrnal~ve An~on Ernpbyer aulnorlred lo p d e r e s e a r , . educaltonal

*n!3frnal;on 2-C ocher sewlces only lo inaov6duals and nnst~tuleons !hat lunclon wllhoul regard lo race. &a:. sex. age, handaca; 01 nallOra 3r'g1n r M D C c : - ' V F C Y T c r ~ C l n h l u m R Y IN AGRICIIITIIRE ~ h . 3 HOL!E ECONOMICS STATE OF FLOR13A IF= UNIVERSlr) OF FCC= >A. A?

Page 30: Necropsy- Killer Whale Kahana

d u r i n g t h e i n c i d e n t . I f o n e o r S c t h o f t h e s e a n i m a l s had been i n v o l v e d i n t h e i n c i d e n t t h e y ~ o s c l i k e l y x o u l d h a v e b e e n swimr;,ing a r o u n d t h e p o o l a t a r a p i d r a t e o f s p e e d , p o s s i b l y c h a s i n g t h e a n i m a l w h i c h d i e d . T h i s was n o t o b s e r v e d . Lack o f i n v o l v e m e n t by t h e o t h e r w h a l e s seems t o be f u r t h e r s u b s t a n t i a t e d b y t h e l a c k o f " r e c e n t r a k e m a r k s u o n t h e d e a d a n i m a l , a n d l a c k o f t r a u m a o r r a k e marks o n t h e s u r v i v i n g w h a l e s .

The q u e s t i o n remains a s t o w h a t w o u l d c a u s e t h i s a n i m a l t o t h r a s h v i o l e n t l y e n o u g h t o i n c u r m u l t i p l e s k u l l f r a c t u r e s and f a t a l i n j u r y . S e a World h a s h y p o t h e s i z e d t h a t a c u t e a b d o m i n a l p a i n , c a u s e d by a t u m o r (neurofibroma/ganglioneuroma) i n t h e d i s t a l s m a l l

p l a u s i b l e . C e t a c e a n s a re p a r t i c u l a r l y p r o n e t o a b d o m i n a l d i s c o m f o r t f rom bowel d i s t e n t i o n b e c a u s e o f t h e restr icted s p a c e w i t h i n t h e p e r i t o n e a l c a v i t y ( S w e e r ~ e y , 1 9 9 0 ) . D i s t e n d e d l o o p s o f bowel were n o t r e p o r t e d o n t h e g r o s s n e c r o p s y r e p o r t f o r t h i s a n i m s l , however p r o s e c t o r s d i d o b s e ~ e t h i c k b r o w n i s h - r e d l i q u i d i n t h e j e junum, a n t e r i o r t o t h e t u m o r . I n a d d i t i o n , t h e a n i m a l ' s h i s t o r y o f e r r a t i c a p p e t i t e is c o n s i s t e n t w i t h i n t e s t i n a l d i s e a s e (Sweeney , 1990) . T h e a n i m a l ' s a p p e t i t e h a d b e e n i r r e g u l a r f o r a t l e a s t 6 m o n t h s p r i o r t o d e a t h , a n d t h i s b e h a v i o r h a d been a t t r i b u t e d t o c o n v a l e s c e n c e f rom a n a p p a r e n t l y . u n r e l a t e d m e d i c a l p r o b l e m w h i c h was s u c c e s s f u l l y t r e a t e d i n t h e f a l l o f 1 9 2 0 .

It is w o r t h m e n t i o n i n g t h a t t h e r e is p r e c e d e n t f o r s e l f - i n f l i c t e d i n j u r y i n c a p t i v e k i l l e r w h a l e s . I n t h e e a r l y 1970s a m a l e k i l l e r w h a l e h o u s e d i n Miami h i t a n o b s e r v a t i o n window w i t h enough f o r c e t o b r e a k t h e window, c a u s i n g l o s s o f a s i g n i f i c a n t volume o f water, a n d s l i c i n g o f f t h e e n d o f h i s n o s e . T h e a t t e n d i n g v e t e r i n a r i a n f o r t h a t i n c i d e n t was D r . Jesse W h i t e . I h a v e l i s t e d Dr. , W h i t e ' s p r e s e n t address and p h o n e number a t t h e e n d o f t h i s l e t t e r s h o u l d you w i s h t o c o n t a c t him w i t h s p e c i f i c q u e s t i o n s a b o u t t h a t e v e n t .

A f i n a l p o i n t c o n c e r n s s p e c u l a t i o n a b o u t a n " u n i d e n t i f i e d f o r e i g n body" c o n t r i b u t i n g t o h e m o r r h a g e i n t h e m e d i a s t i n u m o f t h e dead w h a l e . I n g e s t i o n o f f o r e i g n body c e r t a i n l y h a s a p l a c e o n t h e d i f f e r e n t i a l d i a g n o s i s f o r a c a p t i v e c e t a c e a n w h i c h d ied s u d d e n l y , however , i n t h i s case t h e f a c t s s e e m t o e f f e c t i v e l y r u l e o u t t h i s p o s s i b i l i t y . I n my own mind , t h e s e v e r i t y o f t h e t r a u m ? which was o b s e r v e d s e e m s s u f f i c i e n t t o c a u s e s u b s t a n t i a l s o f t t i s s u e i n j u r y which c o u l d i n c l u d e h e m o r r h a g e i n t h e m e d i a s t i n u m . The e s o p h a g u s a n d m a j o r b l o o d v e s s e l s i n a n a n i m a l of t h i s s i z e are s u f f i c i e n t l y l a r g e t h a t a l a c e r a t i o n o r o t h e r a b n o r m a l i t y s h o u l d be a p p a r e n t d u r i n g g r o s s n e c r o p s y . I n a d d i t i o n , i n g e s t i o n o f f o r e i g n body is g e n e r a l l y c o n s i d e r e d a p r e v e n t a b l e d i s e a s e (Sweeney , 1 9 9 0 ) . P r e v e n t i o n is a c h i e v e d t h r o u g h c l o s e s u r v e i l l a n c e o f p o o l s h o u s i n g m a r i n e mammals, p a r t i c u l a r l y t h o s e w h e r e p u b l i c vkewing is p e r m i t t e d . S e a World h a d t a k e n t h i s p r e c a u t i o n a s e v i d e n c e d by a s s i g n m e n t o f s e c u r i t y p e r s o n n e l . t o t h e k i l l e r w h a l e p o o l a r o u n d - t h e - c l o c k .

Page 31: Necropsy- Killer Whale Kahana

The d e a t h o f whale t SWC-00-7602 a t Sea World i n O r l a ~ d o o c c u r r e d n e a r 7:00 am on August 6 , 1991, less t h a n 2 4 h o u r s a f t e r t h e wha le f i r s t showed b e h a v i o r a l s i g n s o f i l l n e s s . The a n i m a l was n e c r o p s i e d t h e same day. P r o s e c t o r s i n c l u d e d two s t a f f v e t e r i n a r i a n s , and two i n d e p e n d e n t p a t h o l o g i s t s . T i s s u e s c o l l e c t e d d u r i n g t h e g r o s s n e c r o p s y w e r e s u b m i t t e d t o t h r e e s e p a r a t e v e t e r i n a r y p a t h o l o g y l a b o r a t o r i e s . The f i n a l d i a g n o s i s was t h e same from e a c h o f t h e s e i n d e p e n d e n t l a b o r a t o r i e s . The whale died of a n a c u t e nec ro t i z ' i ng pneumonia o f b a c t e r i a l o r i g i n . The pa thogen Pseudomonas a e r u q i n o s a was i s o l a t e d from t h e r e s p i r a t o r y t r a c t o f t h e d e a d wha le a s w e l l a s f rom t h e 1 2 month f e t u s which d i e d in u t e r o . F a t a l consequences o f t h i s a c u t e b a c t e r i a l i n f e c t i o n I n r . l i ~ C J ~ d senti c ~ m i a . nrobah & d i s s e m i n a t e d i n t r a v a s c u l a r c o a g u l a t i o n (DIC) . Given t h e g r a v e n a t u r e of t h e s e s e q u e l a e it is d i f f i c u l t t o imag ine how t h e outcome f o r t h i s a n i m a l might h a v e b e e n changed.

The r a p i d o n s e t o f i l l n e s s and n o r t a l i t y r e p o r t e d i n t h i s a n i m a l is c o n s i s t e n t w i t h o t h e r Pseudomonas i n f e c t i o n s r e p o r t e d i n c a p t i v e c e t a c e a n s (L iong e t a l . , 1 9 8 5 ) . B a c t e r i a l pneumonia is t h e most common c a u s e o f m o r t a l i t y i n c a p t i v e d o l p h i n s (Sweeney, 1986) and it is n o t uncommon f o r b e h a v i o r a l s i g n s o f d i s e a s e t o be masked u n t i l t h e d i s e a s e p r o c e s s is q u i t e advanced (Sweeney, 1990) , .

I n summary, t h e loss of S e a World k i l l e r whales #SWF-00-7803 and #SWC-00-7602 is a t r a g i c l o s s , b u t it is my o p i n i o n t h a t t h e d e a t h s o f t h e s e a n i m a l s c o u l d n o t have been a n t i c i p a t e d o r p r e v e n t e d . I n d e p e n d e n t p a t h o l o g i s t s and o t h e r s p e c i a l i s t s have c o n t r i b u t e d t o t h e knowledge b a s e f o r each a n i m a l . I n f o r m a t i o n has

' been p r e s e n t e d i n a f o r t h r i g h t and h o n e s t manner by S e a World s t a f f .

Thank-you f o r t h e o p p o r t u n i t y t o r ev i ew t h e s e m a t e r i a l s . I f I c a n b e of f u r t h e r a s s i s t a n c e t o you p l e a s e do n o t h e s i t a t e t o c o n t a c t me.

S i n c e r e l y ,

Ruth Fraacis-Floyc!, DVM, M S A s s i s t a n t P r o f e s s o r

A q u a t i c Animal Medicine

Page 32: Necropsy- Killer Whale Kahana

Literature Cited:

Sweeney, J. C. 1990. Marine ' Mammal Behavioral Diagnostics. In: Handbook of Marine a m Medicine: Health, Disease, and Rehabilitation, L.A. Dierauf (ED). CRC Press, Boca Raton, FL. pp 53-72.

Liong, E.; Hamrnond, D.D.; Vedros, N.A. 1985. Pseudomonas pseudomallei infection in a dolphin. (Tursiops gilli) : a case study. Aquatic Mammals 11:20.

Sweeney, J.C. 1986. Infectious Diseases (marine mammal section). In: Zoo and Wild Animal Medicine, Second Edition, M. Fowler (ED). * Additional Resource: (Re: self-inflicted trauma in,captive killer whales)

. .. Dr. Jesse White 12025 N. Elkcam Blvd. Dunnellon FL 32630 (904) '489-8142

J