DATE: Sunday, October 5, 1997               TAG: 9710050097

SECTION: LOCAL                   PAGE: B3   EDITION: FINAL 

SOURCE: BY LIZ SZABO, STAFF WRITER 

DATELINE: VIRGINIA BEACH                    LENGTH:   48 lines

BABY WHALE, STRANDED WITH ITS MOM, DIES AT MUSEUM

A baby whale being cared for at the Virginia Marine Science Museum died early Saturday in spite of more than a week of round-the-clock efforts to save him and his mother.

The mother whale - who had appeared sicker than her frisky, 4-month-old baby - remains in stable condition, said museum spokeswoman Alice Scanlan.

Rescuers said the 670-pound mother probably would not have stranded herself Sept. 26 if she were healthy. The two pygmy sperm whales were found on the beach at Back Bay National Wildlife Refuge and taken to the museum's facility on Birdneck Road.

Rescuers said the baby, about 4 feet long and 95 pounds, was probably healthy but followed its mother - who is believed to have a uterine abnormality - onto the beach.

While the mother had been lethargic and recently appeared to lose her appetite and some of her kidney function, the baby had been energetically swimming around the pool, nuzzling the mother and anxious to nurse.

While rescuers are disappointed about the baby's death, they are not surprised.

The baby was at a critical stage of development. And the prognosis for stranded marine mammals is never good, said Wendy Walton, a research technician at the museum's stranding center.

``We know we did the best we could,'' Walton said. ``We don't know what happened. But there's still a chance for Mom. We're still round-the-clock with her, and we're keeping our fingers crossed.''

This was the first live stranding of pygmy sperm whales here since 1991.

The museum has never been able to keep a stranded mother and baby marine mammal alive.

Museum rescuers are trying to find the mother whale a new home, Scanlan said. The museum's facilities are equipped only for short-term care, not for the months of long-term rehabilitation the mother whale will need.

Caring for the stranded pair was complicated by a lack of knowledge about the species, Scanlan said.

A necropsy on the baby performed Saturday morning suggested two possible causes of death: He could have died from a heart muscle abnormality common in the species, or as he nursed from his ailing mother, he may not have gotten the nutrition he needed. His mother had eaten reluctantly in the past few days, spitting out much of her food.

``As sad as it is that the baby died, we've been able to learn that much more,'' Scanlan said. ``This is information that not only our stranding team is able to access, but that will be available to people across the country.''

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