POST MORTEM FINDINGS IN A STRANDED BRYDE'S wHAL E ON THE EAST COAST OF PENINSuLAR MALAYSIA

A detailed post mortem was carried out on a male Bryde's whale Balaenoptera brydei, a cetacean of suborder Mysticetes, with a wide geographical distribution. The stranded whale, weighing approximately 3.5 metric tons was found beached along the Pekan Nenasi River, Pahang in East Coast of Malaysia facing South China Sea. Gross pathology showed severe hemorrhagic gastritis, probably due to foreign material found compacted in the multichamber stomach, severe congestion in the various vital organs due to toxemia, and severe endoparasite burden in the intestine. Thousands of Digeneans were found in both the caecum and colon. Morphological identification was carried out on these parasites which were identified as Ogmogaster species. As co parasites, the acathocephalan worms Falsifilicollis species was also detected in the large intestine. Histological examination indicated severe bronchointerstitial embolic pneumonia, chronic interstitial hemorrhages, intra alveolar septa thickening in lung tissue; chronic hepatic interstitial hemorrhage, hepatocellular and centrilobular degeneration on the liver tissue; renal tubular and glomerular necrosis in kidney tissue; splenic necrosis and hemorrhages; intestinal mucosal layer necrosis and severe intestinal villi necrosis. The continuing survival of Bryde's species whale is precarious, because of disregard for appropriate measures for their conservation and to conduct appropriate study for the cause of death