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CNN Live Today

Animal Experts Fear Whales May be Ill

Aired July 30, 2002 - 13:05   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR; Now, I'm told, of Lieutenant's Island on Cape Cod, we have Mark Pitta of radio station WQRC. He is actually in the water where those stranded whales are.

Matt, can you hear us OK?

MATT PITTA, WQRC REPORTER: I can hear you just fine, thank you.

PHILLIPS: OK, tell me exactly where you are, and what you can see.

PITTA: I'm Standing about waist deep in water right now, in between (UNINTELLIGIBLE). This is on the outer cape, the northern part of Cape Cod, just south of an area called Lieutenant's Island.

About 24 hours ago, all of these rescuers, who were just further west here on Chapin Beach in Dennis yesterday, trying to save these whales, are back at it again. Now the problem we have over here today is it's looking like most of these whales here are not going to make it. The reports from those who are working just about 100 yards off from me here indicate that they are going to have to euthanize many of these whales right now. As the tide is coming in over the past couple of hours, they are still having problems getting these whales out to shore.

Yesterday nine whales died. One died last night in Sandwich (ph). So the situation here is they have about 40-44 pilot whales that are still stuck on the sand here, just south of an area of Lieutenant's Island.

PHILLIPS: So tell us about these pilot whales, Matt, and the thinking here. Were they chasing a school of fish? Were they following an ill leader? What's the thinking right now?

PITTA: It's very hard for the experts to know what happened. They're performing some necropsies today at a local landfill, where many of the dead whales were taken yesterday, and they say it's almost impossible to look at a whale that is beached and died to determine how it happened. They have to open up the whale to see if there was any disease or anything that could have been affecting that whale.

Now pilot whales are a very social whale by nature. That's the way they're described by marine experts here. So if one or two of these pilot whales was for some reason off course and headed toward the shores here on the outer Cape and yesterday on the mid Cape, the rest of that pod will follow. They tend to be a very social group of whales that will follow the leader, if you will. Apparently, it has happened again. About 4:00 this morning, they estimate they came ashore off Lieutenant Island.

Yesterday there was very good news. Over 45 whales were saved; nine died. Today 40-44 are in the waters here south of Lieutenant Island, things not looking good at all for the whales at this hour. Now what's the character of these whales? They don't pose any danger to these rescuers that are trying to help them, do they?

PHILLIPS: No, these whales pose absolutely no danger to these rescuers right now. Yesterday, there could have been some danger. Many of the whale were still very much active as they were about halfway up in water. And what can happen in that case, because the whales yesterday were very much surrounded, if a rescuer was caught in between those whales when the tide started to come in, there was the possibility they could get knocked around by those whales. Today it's a different situation. These whales still very lethargic.

Again, we have hear at least two of them have already died. Again, they're in the process of euthanizes a couple of them out there. So again, no danger to the rescuers. Pilot whales not enormous whales. The one we saw yesterday ran maybe from 6 feet up to about 28 or 29 feet or so. So again, a significant-sized whale, but not enormous whale. So no harm whatsoever possible to the rescuers here today.

PHILLIPS: Meanwhile rescuers throwing wet towels over the mammals, trying to regulate their temperature, keep them alive before that tide does come in.

Matt Pitta, of radio station WQRP, thanks, Matt.

PITTA: Thank you.

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