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About The daily Astorian. (Astoria, Or.) 1961-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 12, 2018)
7A THE DAILY ASTORIAN • WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 12, 2018 Experts weigh next steps, possible capture to save ill orca By PHUONG LE Associated Press SEATTLE — A young, sick whale is skinnier than ever and in poor condition nearly two months after an international team of experts began tak- ing extraordinary measures to save her. Now, a U.S. agency and its partners are weighing whether to intervene further to help the female orca known as J50 by temporarily capturing her, treating her on the spot and releasing her, or holding her for a short time for rehabilita- tion before returning her to the wild. Veterinarians believe they have exhausted treatment options in the field, including twice injecting the free-swim- ming whale with antibiotics in the Northwest waters. “No rescue would proceed while J50 remains with J Pod and her family group,” NOAA Fisheries, the agency respon- sible for marine mammal pro- tection, said late Tuesday. Teams would only res- cue the orca if she becomes stranded or separated from the rest of her tightly knit group of whales to minimize any poten- tial risks to those other whales, the agency said. J50 is one of just 75 of the fish-eating orcas in Pacific Northwest waters. Another orca in the same pod, known as J35, triggered international sympathy this summer when she kept the body of her dead Brian Gisborne/Fisheries and Oceans Canada Southern Resident killer whale J50 and her mother, J16, swim Aug. 7 off the west coast of Vancouver Island near Port Renfrew, B.C. calf afloat in waters for more than two weeks. The southern resident killer whales don’t have enough chi- nook salmon, the staple of their diet. They also face threats from toxic contamination as well as vessel noise and distur- bances that disrupt their ability to communicate and forage. There hasn’t been a suc- cessful birth in the population since 2015. Losing J50 would also mean losing her reproduc- tive potential, biologists say. An international team of Canadian and U.S. whale experts has mounted an inten- sive effort to help the young orca since concerns were raised in mid-July. They have taken breath and fecal samples but still don’t know for certain what’s wrong with J50. Response teams have injected her twice with antibi- otics and tried to give her med- ication to help with parasitic worms, which they believe she has based on fecal samples taken from her mother. Teams have also dropped several live salmon from a boat as J50 and her pod swam behind — a test to see whether fish could be used as a means of delivering medication. Drone images taken Mon- day showed J50 much thin- ner than she was last year. Her mother, J16, has also declined in the past month, perhaps because of the burden of help- ing catch and share food with J50, experts said. “Things are bad with her right now,” Joe Gaydos, a wildlife veterinarian and sci- ence director of SeaDoc Soci- ety said. “She’s one tough little cookie. It’s amazing that she’s still going.” As part of the response team, he tried unsuccess- fully Friday to give the orca a dewormer by dart. He said experts met Monday to discuss a range of scenarios, including the pros and cons of capturing a free-swimming whale and when to intervene. “We don’t want to take her from her mom where we have a J35 situation. We don’t want to have an impact on J pod,” Gaydos said, but waiting until she strands may also be too late. “These are very hard questions to answer and I think that right now the good thing is we’re talking about all the options.” NOAA Fisheries announced two meetings in Washington state this weekend — in Friday Harbor and Seat- tle — to get public input on next steps. What to do to help J50 has generated intense emotional reactions on social media and other forums. Some have pleaded with federal officials to do everything they can to save her, including feeding her or capturing her. Others worry that more intervention would stress her and her family mem- bers. They think that nature should be allowed to run its course. “We would love J50 to survive,” said Susan Berta, co-founder of the Orca Net- work, an advocacy group. “At what point are we doing more harm than good?” The last time scientists rescued a killer whale in the region was in 2002 when a northern resident killer whale known as Springer was found swimming alone in Puget Sound. She was moved into a float- ing net pen in Puget Sound and veterinarians assessed her condition and treated her. She was fed live salmon in the pen. She returned to her family of whales in Canada later that year and in 2013 was seen with her new calf. Consult a PROFESSIONAL Q: When can I change my Part D Prescription Plan? My medications have changed and I am not sure my plan is best for me now. Steve Putman Medicare Products 503-440-1076 Licensed in Oregon and Washington putmanagency@gmail.com A: The Annual Enrollment Period (AEP) runs October 15th thru December 7th, with an effective date of January 1. You may have other options available to you as well; give me a call and we can discuss your situation. Q: Why don’t my dentures fi t anymore? teeth are lost the gum and A: Once bone have a tendency to shrink and JEFFREY M. LEINASSAR DMD, FAGD 503/325-0310 1414 MARINE DRIVE, ASTORIA www.smileastoria.com LEO FINZI Monument: ‘Still a lot of unknowns’ Council for approval by the end of the year, Bowler said. The city’s Historic Landmarks Commission will also need to review the final design. Peoples Park, between 15th and 16th streets on Marine Drive, includes a parking lot and a grassy area dotted with trees and shrubs. Most days the park is empty, except at midday, when Filling Empty Bellies, a nonprofit that works with the homeless, serves free lunch six days a week. The designs for what could be the new version of Peoples Park include a midsummer pole, a flag display and a troll sculpture. Both designs also use text, pictures and other types of sculptures, panels or maps to convey the rich his- tory of Scandinavians in Asto- ria. The designs also retain most of the trees and grassy, natural parkland. The final design will likely be a blend of elements from the two differ- ent designs. Nancy Lane, who sits on the park committee, said it was difficult to find sym- bols or items to represent all the Scandinavian nationali- ties that immigrated to Astoria. Lane and her daughter talked about what the people would have had in common. Steamer trunks, they decided. At Tues- day’s meeting, Lane read from a statement advocating for the inclusion of a sculpture depict- ing piled steamer trunks. “They all left their families to come here to start a new life and they had everything in that one trunk,” Lane said later. Steamer trunks are some- thing the park designers have considered including, though not piled up as Lane suggested. They hoped to have sculp- tures of trunks placed next to each other to do double duty as interpretive tools and as places to rest or play. “This is just the begin- ning of this process,” Lampi reminded the audience Tues- day. “There are still a lot of unknowns.” than one web browser, you will need to go there using each browser. Different browsers have We stock different methods for installation. thousands of cables, parts and Just follow the instructions and say yes as needed. Although accessories Mon-Fri 10-6, Sat 11-4 AdBlockPlus cannot block ALL 77 11th Street, Suite H ads, you will see a noticeable Astoria, OR improvement. 503-325-2300 Q: Should I use heat or cold? you hurt,especially in A: If a joint, use ice; it reduces ASTORIA CHIROPRACTIC Barry Sears, D.C. Center: It will run two to three shifts a day 503-325-3311 2935 Marine Drive Astoria, Oregon Continued from Page 1A Parking for the center will be on Marine Drive. Chris King, a project man- ager with Fresenius Medical Care, said the company will install 17 kidney dialysis sta- tions, including one in a sep- arated room for patients with special health concerns. “We wanted to be in Asto- ria proper,” King said. “It’s a pretty small market, so other available properties had chal- lenges. This just wound up being a good fit.” The center will run two to three shifts a day and also cater to tourists in need of dialysis, he said. Fresenius has 40 centers in Oregon. The closest to Astoria is in St. Helens. Q: How can I stop annoying web ads? Astoria’s A: Visit the website AdBlockPlus.org and install Best.com the program. If you use more A rendering of potential designs for a Scandinavian Heritage Park. Continued from Page 1A recede. Just like a leg in a cast for several months getting no stimulation, then removing the cast and seeing a withered leg, the dental jaw bone is stimulated by the function of the teeth and the forces of chewing. When teeth are removed this stimulation is lost and for many denture wearers the bone will shrink resulting in a change of bone volume and a stable denture fi t. If your situation does require loss of teeth or you now have dentures ask about dental implants which can help support dentures and minimize loss of bone volume. Please contact our offi ce at 503-325-0310 for an evaluation. inflammation and pain and shortens healing time. You can get a burn from ice just like with heat, so don’t leave it on for more than 20 minutes. Most problems get better more quickly with ice. Heat feels good, but may seriously make problems worse. As long as there is pain and/or swelling, continue ice; it can be done as often as once an hour. Would you heat a cut? No, because it would keep bleeding —that is what happens inside where you can’t see it. is the the most Q: What demanding part of being a Funeral Director? A: John R. Alcantara - Funeral Director Hughes- Ransom Mortuary Fresenius Medical Care Fresenius Kidney Care will build out the inside of a new center in Astoria with kidney dialysis machines arrayed around a central space, similar to a center in Portland. Astoria: 576 12th St. 503.325.2535 Seaside: 220 N. Holladay 503.738.6622 www.hughes-ransom.com The winner of that distinction goes to contentious surviving family & friends. While I understand that everyone experiences grief differently, there is certain uncivil behavior I will not tolerate. The first is when one or both sides try to curry my favor to their cause (sometimes informing me of all the bad deeds the other party is alleged to have done). The other is witnessing bullying or intentionally leaving someone out of the decision making process. While I understand that there’s always 2 sides to every story I have to inform each party that self serving, discourteous behavior is unacceptable, and remind them of my role (being neutral) is to facilitate an agreement or compromise which helps them find closure & memorializes their loved one in a way befitting of their life. is to facilitate an agreement or compromise which helps them find closure & memorializes their loved one in a way befitting of their life.
