We report an unusual snaring of the larynx in an adult, female common bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops truncatus). The dolphin was observed swimming and diving in Haifa Port, Israel, but was found dead the next day, 60 km south, on the coast. Postmortem examination revealed stranded-cordage, nylon filaments wrapped around the larynx, cutting through the soft tissue, and extending down into the forestomach, where a large mass of netting was found. The cachectic state of the dolphin and the subacute to chronic, hyper-plastic response of soft tissue surrounding the filaments lodged around the larynx, suggest a prolonged period of starvation, which led to the final weakness and wasting of the dolphin.
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1 July 2009
Laryngeal Snaring by Ingested Fishing Net in a Common Bottlenose Dolphin (Tursiops truncatus) Off the Israeli Shoreline
Alon M. Levy,
Ori Brenner,
Aviad Scheinin,
Dan Morick,
Eliana Ratner,
Oz Goffman,
Dan Kerem
Journal of Wildlife Diseases
Vol. 45 • No. 3
July 2009
Vol. 45 • No. 3
July 2009
Cetacea
gillnet
marine pollution
Tursiops truncatus