Abstract
Hand-rearing of marine mammals is an essential technique for husbandry of orphans in captivity or wild, and conservation of them, especially endangered cetacean species. In the recent reports on hand-rearing of dolphins, formula selection and preparation, delivery methods of artificial formulas, caloric requirements and growth of neonates have been described.1,2 The purpose of the present study was to establish a method for successful hand-rearing of finless porpoises and to evaluate the nutritional state of neonatal porpoises.
Two neonatal finless porpoises neglected on Day 5 (neonate A) and Day 4 (neonate B) were hand-reared in this study. Formula ingredients were as follows: 40–90 ml of prepared milk (100 g of powdered milk added to 300 ml of water), 10 ml of whipping cream, 2 ml of salmon oil, 5–150 ml of slurry of fish meat and 5 ml of multi-amino acids. Each neonate was supplemented with one-quarter multivitamin tablet (5M26 Vita-Zu tablet, Mazuri, IN, USA), 250 mg of lactoferrin and one-half lactobacillus tablets. (number of lactobacillus orgs?)
The quantity of each force-feeding and the daily number of feedings in neonate A were gradually increased up to 1,355 ml and 16 times, respectively to Day 18. The neonate A was consuming an average of 1,307±52 ml/day (mean±SD) of formula and calf A was weaned at Day 135. The quantity of each force-feeding and the daily number of feedings in neonate B were gradually increased up to 1,120 ml and 14 times, respectively to Day 24. The neonate B feeding amount increased gradually to an average of 1,193±64 ml/day of formula and calf B was weaned at Day 137. The daily caloric intakes of neonate A and neonate B during lactation period were 1,340±125 kcal and 1,217±91 kcal, respectively. Neonate A and neonate B grew from 5 day weight of 9.83 kg to 18.33 kg at weaning and from 4 day weight of 9.78 kg to 18.67 kg at weaning during hand-reared period, and the average increases of body weight of neonate A and neonate B were 70.5 g/day and 72.5 g/day, respectively. Hypoproteinemia and hypertriglyceridemia were observed in the two neonate porpoises during early stage of hand-rearing. Hypoproteinemia was observed in neonate A (4.5 g/dl) and in neonate B (5.2 g/dl) at Day 18. Multiple amino acids supplementation in formula improved hypoproteinemia in the neonates. Mean serum triglyceride concentrations in neonate A and B with hypertriglyceridemia were 901±243 mg/dl and 605±180 mg/dl, respectively. Hyperlipoproteinemia characterized by higher percentage of VLDL and the appearance of midband was also observed in the two neonates with hypertriglyceridemia. A significant correlation (p<0.05) was found between serum triglyceride and serum FFA concentrations in the two neonates.
Hand-rearing of two neonate finless porpoises at 4 days after birth was successfully carried out until weaning. Evaluation of serum protein, serum lipids concentrations and lipoprotein profiles is needed for nutritional husbandry for hand reared neonatal dolphins.3 It was suggested that multiple amino acids supplementation is needed for growth of hand-reared neonatal dolphins. The hand-rearing of these finless porpoises are the first successful cases in captive dolphins from all Japanese aquariums.
Acknowledgements
The authors wish to thank the animal care and training staff at Toba Aquarium for their technical assistance.
* Presenting author
Literature Cited
1. Townsend FI. 1999. Hand-rearing techniques for neonate cetaceans. In: Fowler ME, ed. Zoo and Wild Animal Medicine. 4th ed. Philadelphia (PA): WB Saunders; 493–497.
2. Townsend FI, Gage LJ. 2001. Hand-rearing and artificial milk formulas. In: Gulland FMD, Dierauf LA, eds. CRC Handbook of Marine Mammal Medicine. 2nd ed. Boca Raton, FL: CRC Press Inc.; 829–849.
3. Kasamatsu M, Kawauchi R, Tsunokawa M, Ueda, K, Uchida E, Oikawa S, Higuchi H, Kawajiri T, Uchida S, Nagahata H. 2009. Comparison of serum lipid compositions, lipid peroxide, α-tocopherol and lipoproteins in captive marine mammals (bottlenose dolphins, spotted seals and West Indian manatees) and terrestrial mammals. Res Vet Sci. 86: 216–222.