Vet aids in whale rescue attempt

David Brunson, veterinary anesthesiologist at the School of Veterinary Medicine, returned to the Atlantic Ocean July 8 for a second attempt at sedating a 45-ton, 45-foot long northern right whale to free it from its entanglement with a rope that has injured it.

A whale rescue group, the Center for Coastal Studies, wants to remove the rope from this endangered species of whale because it is causing an infection. Only about 300 northern Atlantic right whales remain in the world.

“No one has ever tried to immobilize or sedated an animal of this size, or one swimming in an ocean,” says Brunson, the only veterinary anesthesiologist in the group.

As an expert in anesthetizing these huge creatures, Brunson explains there is a fine line between adequately sedating a voluntary breather like a whale and giving it too much sedative, which would cause it to drown.

The first sedation attempt June 26 was not enough to allow rescuers to completely remove the rope. The sedative was administered through a “whale-sized” syringe with a foot-long needle capable of penetrating the whale’s thick blubber and delivering the sedative into its muscle tissue. The group has decided to make a second rescue attempt, this time using both a sedative and an analgesic.

Brunson became involved with the whale rescue group more than a year ago when the group sought out his opinion on whale sedation. His extensive experience with zoo animals and wildlife, including work done in Alaska to develop safer anesthetics for walruses, caught the group’s attention.