CALO 0604 - Sperm whale (Physeter macrocephalus)
Stranding volunteers investigate a sperm whale
(CALO 0604) on Cape Lookout, NC
Former UNCW graduate student Ari Friedlaender and
current graduate students Cally Harper and Brian
Balmer assist in the necropsy of the sperm whale
This adult female sperm whale live stranded on Cape Lookout, NC on March 29, 2006. The animal died in the afternoon and a necropsy was conducted the following day by UNCW Marine Mammal Stranding Program volunteers, NOAA Beaufort, and volunteers from Duke University Marine Laboratory.
The whale was extremely emaciated. Both uterine horns were enlarged and the mammaries expressed a small volume of milk, suggesting a recent pregnancy. There was significant fibrosis of the reniculi of the kidneys, with associated edema of all surrounding tissues.
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