DoE recover dead porpoise from BT beach

| 27/01/2020 | 26 Comments
  • Cayman News Service
  • Cayman News Service

(CNS): The Department of Environment said they believe the dead porpoise that washed up on a Bodden Town beach this weekend is a young false killer whale (Pseudorca crassidens). The carcass has been sent to vets at St Matthews University for a necropsy to find out how it died. The DoE said that it will be keeping the public posted about what they learn regarding the animal’s demise.

Cayman News Service
Portuguese man o’ war

Meanwhile, the DoE is also warning the public to look out for Portuguese man o’ wars after one was spotted in the North Sound Sunday near the Yacht Club canal. With very long tentacles these blue jellyfish-like creatures can deliver a very painful venomous sting.


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Category: Marine Environment, Science & Nature

Comments (26)

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  1. Anonymous says:

    Next up impending earthquake!!!

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  2. Anon says:

    Did it beach itself by accident or was it on porpoise?

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  3. Anonymous says:

    Oh dear, there is nothing unusual about this, certainly it has happened many times before. Get a grip.

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  4. Anonymous says:

    OMG. Not a Portuguese Man O’War! Will the police helicopter help cordon off the area? Will North Sound remain open for visitors. Shall we capture all the stingrays and keep them in the turtle farm for their until the threat has passed?

    C’mon man. What is happening to us?

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    • Anonymous says:

      I’d rather be warned then stung you numbnut

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    • Anonymous says:

      11:42 Calm yourself. No one is suggesting any of that. The DOE are just warning people that there have been sightings of the Portuguese man o’ war in our waters. As they sting like a B$&@h I personally would rather know that they are about.

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      • Anonymous says:

        They have been in our waters for millennia. That you live in Cayman and are unaware of them is what is truly worrying.

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        • Anonymous says:

          5:32 They are not native numb nuts. Making people aware of something that gives a nasty sting that is pretty bloody painful isn’t snowflake-like. Quit the snarky comments or if you are unhappy with people warning others about venomous wildlife in our waters go jump in a sink hole. There’s many to choose from atm!

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          • Anonymous says:

            They are absolutely native. I have seen literally hundreds, and have cleared them from beaches (picking them up by the sail).

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            • Anonymous says:

              7:54 No. They are a seasonal visitors. If we got them all the time and all year round there would be more sightings and warnings about it. Despite all your claims that alerting the public to their presence is “silly”, they are, in fact, lethal in some cases. I have lived here my entire life and they have always been rare visitors. Please provide proof of the “hundreds” you have cleared from our beaches. What else has the DOE warned the public about recently in regards to animals that pose health risks!? Your comments make it sound like they are issuing threats about dangerous animals every week. The warning about Portuguese man-o-war is utterly rational. Chill bobo.

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        • Anonymous says:

          What a dumb comment. So much for Caymankind. Not everyone knows about every animal in the sea regardless of where they were born.

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  5. Anonymous says:

    Why can’t DOE do the Necropsy? Who is putting Caymanian people first here? As for the Portugese Man O War? More fear mongering!

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    • Anonymous says:

      Another great comment. Is there a shortage of meds just now? So should they get your cousin to do the necropsy because he’s Caymanian and once kept a goldfish!

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  6. Anonymous says:

    Belly probably full of plastic.

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  7. Anonymous says:

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portuguese_man_o%27_war

    The Portuguese man o’ war (Physalia physalis), also known as the man-of-war,[6] is a marine hydrozoan found in the Atlantic, Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is one of two species in the genus Physalia, along with the Pacific man o’ war (or Australian blue bottle), Physalia utriculus.[7] Physalia is the only genus in the family Physaliidae. Its long tentacles deliver a painful sting, which is venomous and powerful enough to kill fish and even humans.[8] Despite its appearance, the Portuguese man o’ war is not a true jellyfish but a siphonophore, which is not an individual multicellular organism (true jellyfishes are single organisms), but a colonial organism made up of many specialized animals of the same species, called zooids or polyps.[9] These polyps are attached to one another and physiologically integrated, to the extent that they cannot survive independently, creating a symbiotic relationship, requiring each polyp to work together and function like an individual animal.

    Venom
    This species is responsible for up to 10,000 human stings in Australia each summer, particularly on the east coast, with some others occurring off the coast of South Australia and Western Australia.[24] One of the problems with identifying these stings is that the detached tentacles may drift for days in the water, and the swimmer may not have any idea if they have been stung by a man o’ war or by some other less venomous creature.[citation needed]

    The stinging, venom-filled nematocysts in the tentacles of the Portuguese man o’ war can paralyze small fish and other prey.[25] Detached tentacles and dead specimens (including those that wash up on shore) can sting just as painfully as the live organism in the water and may remain potent for hours or even days after the death of the organism or the detachment of the tentacle.[26]

    Stings usually cause severe pain to humans, leaving whip-like, red welts on the skin that normally last two or three days after the initial sting, though the pain should subside after about 1 to 3 hours (depending on the biology of the person stung). However, the venom can travel to the lymph nodes and may cause symptoms that mimic an allergic reaction including swelling of the larynx, airway blockage, cardiac distress, and an inability to breathe (though this is not due to a true allergy, which is defined by serum IgE). Other symptoms can include fever and shock, and in some extreme cases, even death,[27] although this is extremely rare. Medical attention for those exposed to large numbers of tentacles may become necessary to relieve pain or open airways if the pain becomes excruciating or lasts for more than three hours, or breathing becomes difficult. Instances where the stings completely surround the trunk of a young child are among those that have the potential to be fatal.

    Treatment of stings
    Stings from a Portuguese man o’ war are often extremely painful. They result in severe dermatitis characterized by long, thin, open wounds that resemble those caused by a whip.[29] These are not caused by any impact or cutting action, but by irritating urticariogenic substances in the tentacles.[30][31] Salt water treatment should not be used as a treatment.[28][32][33][34]

    Acetic acid (vinegar) or a solution of ammonia and water is believed to deactivate the remaining nematocysts and usually provides some pain relief,[28] though some isolated studies suggest that in some individuals vinegar dousing may increase toxin delivery and worsen symptoms.[32][35] Vinegar has also been claimed to provoke hemorrhaging when used on the less severe stings of cnidocytes of smaller species.[36] The current recommended treatment from studies in Australia is to avoid the use of vinegar, as local studies have shown this to exacerbate the symptoms.

    The vinegar or ammonia soak is then often followed by the application of shaving cream to the wound for 30 seconds, followed by shaving the area with a razor and rinsing the razor thoroughly between each stroke. This removes any remaining unfired nematocysts. Heat in the form of hot salt water or hot packs may be applied: heat speeds the breakdown of the toxins already in the skin. Hydrocortisone cream may also be used

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