Alstrup Aage Kristian Olsen, Thøstesen Charlotte Bie, Hansen Kirstin Anderson, Sonne Christian, Kinze Carl Christian, Mikkelsen Lars, Thomsen Annika, Povlsen Peter, Larsen Hanne Lyngholm, Linder Anne Cathrine, Pagh Sussie
Department of Nuclear Medicine and PET, Aarhus University Hospital, 8200 Aarhus, Denmark.
Department for Clinical Medicine, Aarhus University, 8200 Aarhus, Denmark.
Animals (Basel). 2023 Jun 10;13(12):1948. doi: 10.3390/ani13121948.
The rescue attempts of stranded whales and euthanasia considerations must include condition assessments of the individual involved, but this is challenged by our insufficient knowledge about the health statuses of these whales. Here, we describe three separate strandings of a young male killer whale () in shallow Danish waters during 2021-2022. During the first two stranding events, the whale exhibited remarkable behavior and, after refloating attempts and several kilometers of swimming, it returned to shallow water. This suggests that it actively chose to be in this shallow water, perhaps to ensure free airways and respiration. During the last stranding, it stayed in shallow water for 30 days, during which, euthanasia was considered due to its seemingly worsened condition, including a collapsed dorsal fin. However, suddenly, the whale swam away and, a year later, he was seen alive, confirming that euthanasia would have been the wrong decision. This case raises an important question as to when and under what circumstances active human interventions, such as refloating attempts, should be launched and when euthanasia should be carried out. Every stranding is unique and decisions should be based on thorough considerations of the animal's health and the chance of a successful rescue.
搁浅鲸鱼的救援尝试和安乐死考量必须包括对相关个体的状况评估，但我们对这些鲸鱼健康状况的了解不足给这一工作带来了挑战。在此，我们描述了2021年至2022年期间一头年轻雄性虎鲸在丹麦浅水区的三次单独搁浅事件。在前两次搁浅事件中，这头鲸鱼表现出非凡的行为，在尝试使其重新浮起并游了几公里后，它又回到了浅水区。这表明它是主动选择待在这片浅水区的，或许是为了确保气道通畅和呼吸。在最后一次搁浅时，它在浅水区停留了30天，在此期间，由于其状况似乎恶化，包括背鳍塌陷，人们考虑对其实施安乐死。然而，这头鲸鱼突然游走了，一年后，有人看到它还活着，这证实了实施安乐死会是个错误的决定。这个案例引发了一个重要问题，即何时以及在何种情况下应发起诸如尝试使其重新浮起等积极的人为干预，何时应实施安乐死。每次搁浅都是独特的，决策应基于对动物健康状况和成功救援可能性的全面考量。
