Two porpoises get help in rehabilitation from UNE swim team members

March 15, 2010 - Two stranded harbor porpoises undergoing rehabilitation at the Univerity of New England's Marine Animal Rehabilitation Center (MARC) are getting help with their physical therapy from members of UNE's swim team.**

The two porpoises reside in an outdoor pool at UNE's Marine Science Education and Research Center where MARC is located.

The porpoise "Toughy" (MARC 09-079 Pp) has been undergoing rehabilitation at MARC since she arrived at the center in November 2009 with refractory pneumonia and severe scoliosis (a curvature of the spine).

Marine Mammal Rehabilitation Coordinator Keith Matassa explains that as part of Toughy's rehabilitation, the UNE swim team, UNE physical therapy students, outside massage and acupuncture therapists, as well as many other experts in the marine mammal rehabilitation field, have joined the MARC rehabilitation staff in the effort to successfully rehabilitate and return Toughy to her natural habitat.

The swim team became involved in Toughy's rehabilitation through team co-captain Morgan Lawless, a marine biology major, who was working as a volunteer at MARC when Toughy was transported to UNE from the College of the Atlantic in November.

Lawless recruited half of the 21 member swim team to volunteer. Swim team members take turns, enabling Toughy to get swimming therapy twice a day. Because porpoises tend to swim clockwise, the swim team members work to get Toughy to swim counterclockwise to tighten the porpoise's left side and loosen the right side.

Toughy has also gotten help from the Maine Veterinary Referral Center (MVRC), which has generously donated their time, expertise, and diagnostic capabilities, such as CT scans, to aid in Toughy’s recovery.

The second porpoise, MARC 10-012 Pp, was stranded ashore at Goose Rocks Beach, Kennebunkport, following a strong Nor'easter storm with winds in excess of 80 mph and ocean swells of 24 feet on Feb. 22, 2010.

On admission, #12 was underweight, and had corneal scratches (eye injuries) - possibly due to high winds blowing sand into her eyes.  She also developed lesions which appear to be related to exposure during her stranding. #12 is doing well in rehabilitation though her condition also remains guarded.

Toughy and #12 share the same pool. This is the first time that MARC has rehabilitated two porpoises at the same time.

In the wild, harbor porpoises may be observed as solitary animals or in small groups of two to three animals.  Housing these two animals together has proven to be an asset for both of the porpoises' rehabilitation and well-being.

#12 has seemingly motivated Toughy to begin swimming and diving on her own, and Toughy has provided stimulation and "companionship" to #12.

** It was with great sadness that MARC staff made the difficult decision to euthanize "Toughy" on March 18, 2010. After many months of rehabilitation and extreme efforts by many people to attempt to correct her severe scoliosis and pneumonia it became clear that their efforts were not progressing as much as needed for her to have a good quality of life. Although Toughy was placed on an aggressive antibiotic regime and a CT scan showed that her pneumonia had likely resolved, her limited mobility set up conditions for pneumonia to recur and she was observed coughing blood from her blowhole. In addition, although she has been swimming slightly better, her curvature continued to worsen despite the best efforts to correct it with several physical therapy modalities and exercise.