Whatever
Happened To...
An update on past news
Whale rescued
off Big Island
survived five years
in captivityWhat ever happened to the baby melon-headed whale rescued off the Big Island in April 1998 and taken to Sea Life Park?
After growing up in captivity for five years, the female melon-headed whale known as Keauhou died June 22, said veterinarian Bob Braun, president of the Hawaiian Islands Stranding Response Group.
Braun, who has helped care for two adult male melon-headed whales that stranded at Hauula Beach Park on Aug. 19, said he does not know the cause of Keauhou's death. Officials at Sea Life Park could not be reached for comment.
Braun helped rescue Keauhou in 1998 after swimmers reported what they thought was a false killer whale calf trying to nurse on their toes, he said.
"A group of us went over that night (to the Big Island) and contacted a number of boaters in the area," Braun recalled yesterday. "By about 8:30 next morning, I got a page that some people coming out of Keauhou Bay had seen the animal floating about 75 yards offshore."
The "emaciated and sunburned" whale was guided to shore, treated for stress and dehydration and eventually flown to Oahu where she was cared for at the Kaneohe Marine Corps Base before moving to her home at Sea Life Park, Braun said.
Veterinarians and nutritionists from Sea World in California created a special formula for the calf that featured whipped cream to help her gain weight. Over the next five years, she grew from 98 to more than 300 pounds.
Braun stressed that Keauhou did not have a disease or injury when she was rescued, compared with the recently stranded melon-headed whales, which had internal infections. One was so weak that he was euthanized last weekend. The survivor continues to improve from a gastrointestinal tract infection and scrapes on his body.
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