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Gowanus Dolphin Probably Wasn't Killed By Toxic Canal, Necropsy Finds
By
John Del Signore
Published Jan 28, 2013
Modified Jan 28, 2013
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By
John Del Signore
Published Jan 28, 2013
Modified Jan 28, 2013
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The dolphin who died in the Gowanus Canal Friday night had serious health problems that had nothing to do with the toxic water at the Superfund site, according to the preliminary results of a necropsy conducted by the Riverhead Foundation. We already knew the poor thing was injured and bleeding as it lingered in the canal, but now Riverhead says the dolphin's death was most likely caused by chronic ailments, including kidney stones, which is not normal for dolphins.
"Yesterday's examination indicates the animal was compromised already," Riverhead's Kimberly Durham tells us. "It was a common dolphin, and based on looking at its teeth, we determined it was older because their teeth get rounded as they age. He had not been eating for some time. He had liver parasites, GI parasites, and one of his kidneys had a pretty significant amount of kidney stones. This is often seen in animals that are chronically ill." The 340-pound, seven-foot-long dolphin was between 25-30 years old, which is toward the late middle age of a common dolphin's life span.
"The necropsy did not support that the water quality contributed to its death," Durham says. "There were no ulcerations or indications that the skin was reacting to the water, or sensitive tissue around its blow hole. The health issues do not seem to be an immediate result of being in that water, although I'm sure it didn't help."
Asked what can be done to prevent this from happening again, Durham says there isn't much. "Like the whale that washed up in Breezy Point, this was a compromised animal that was weakened, and that's when you find them in areas where you don't usually find them," Durham tells us. "This particular area is a nightmare in terms of response. We've been criticized for not acting, but that location is very challenging due to safety issues. It was very frustrating."
Riverhead will be sharing full results of the necropsy after it's complete, once they have the results of tissue tests from a lab, which could take up to six months. The foundation was immediately criticized for not rescuing the dolphin from the canal when it was discovered Friday afternoon—the foundation says rescuers were dissuaded by the logistics of safely removing it from the water (they'd need federal permission), the low survival rate of dolphins taken for rehabilitation (10 percent), and the possible dangers of the toxic water of the canal on staff members. It died not long after Riverhead representatives went home for the night.
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John Del Signore
Originally from the Albany area, John Del Signore has called NYC home since 1995. In addition to his thousands of meticulously-crafted bespoke blog posts for Gothamist, his writing has also been published in The Awl, Deadspin, The Nervous Breakdown, and performed at The Brick Theater in Brooklyn.
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