WELFARE INTERVENTIONS

We recognise the greater value of focusing conservation efforts on populations rather than individuals. Nevertheless, we believe that animal welfare should be promoted whenever possible. Challenging situations involving single or small groups of cetaceans in distress may infrequently arise in coastal waters. These include by-catch or entanglement in fishing gears, live standings, natural entrapments in shallow bays, or sick or isolated individuals. Often, there are no protocols in place to manage these risky situations and outcomes appear rather uncertain. This may lead to important controversy and lack of action taken. To assist local communities and help with animal welfare, we travel onsite, conduct situation assessments and advise on possible solutions whenever possible. We always establish contact and solicit approvals from the Norwegian authorities prior initiating any intervention. 

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In May 2017, we initiated and led the rescue operation of five killer whales that entrapped in the small bay of Trælvikosen, Brønnøysund. Possibly, the long narrow and shallow inlet may have deterred the whales from returning to the open water. Because no fish schools could be detected in the bay and because the whales displayed signs of stress and malnutrition, a rescue operation involving the local community was conducted to free the whales. It took 25 boats and four hours to successfully drive the whales out. We assisted the Norwegian Directorate of Fisheries in a similar rescue of two entrapped killer whales on Vannøya, Troms in November 2019. These cases led to conducting a review of other natural killer whale entrapments recorded in other parts of the world. The resulting publication provides guidance on how to reliably identify entrapment situations and on intervention methods.

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Perhaps the most unique case we had to deal with so far was the rescue of Hvaldimir, the beluga whale better known as the 'Russian spy-whale'. Apparently from a managed-care situation and possibly from a Russian facility, the friendly beluga whale was first spotted in Norwegian waters in April 2019. After two weeks spent in the industrial harbour of Hammerfest, Hvaldimir showed obvious signs of poor condition. To promote his welfare and survival while potential long-term solutions were reviewed and to be decided by the Norwegian authorities, we took charge of his feeding and monitoring program, under official permission. The delicate mission turned out to be successful as Hvaldimir apparently gained weight and became more energetic and active. 24/7 monitoring of his behaviour soon revealed a growing interest for live fish and prey capture attempts. Hvaldimir left Hammerfest in July 2019, and has been swimming on his own, feeding himself, ever since.

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​Equally important, we publish rescue and monitoring protocols in the scientific literature, for the benefit of a wider community seeking to help marine animals in distress.

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