Today’s Garden Island newspaper reported on the current necropsy results for 5 pilot whales that died after a total of 17 whales beached themselves on October 13th — one month after 10 tons of anticoagulant rat poison was dropped by helicopter on the steep slopes of Lehua Island. The following excerpts are from this article in today’s paper - November 29, 2017: ——- At the briefing, scientists said the whales had full bellies of squid and fish, which is unusual for strandings. ——- “I’m so suspicious there will be a cover up. It’s too coincidental that so soon after the rat poison is dropped, we have this stranding,” said Rep. Dee Morikawa (D-16). “These whales eat the squid that may have eaten the poison dropped in the ocean. That is what I suspect happened.” ——- Included in the panel was Kristi West, who directs necropsy and cause of death investigations for whales throughout Hawaii as a research scientist and affiliate faculty member at the Hawaii Institute of Marine Biology, University of Hawaii. “What we do know is we’re looking at an acute cause,” West said. “We’ve been able to rule out sickness and disease in the five animals, though unfortunately we don’t know about the others.” West said now that she is aware of the possibility of the rat poison be passed on by ingesting the squid, it will also be tested. ——- The largest female whale had extensive bleeding along her body wall at the time of necropsy, and scientists believe this could be attributed to the breaching and ramming activity associated with the stranding. ——- “When marine mammals strand themselves it’s usually a signal that something in our environment is out of sync,” said Ing. ——- You can read the full article at the following link — http://www.thegardenisland.com/2017/11/29/hawaii-news/lawmakers-suspicious-on-whale-beachings/ To learn more, please join the conversation on Facebook at ‘It Takes a Village Kauai' https://m.facebook.com/groups/1884230138270651?tsid=0.7103491246256949&source=result