Dolphin & Whale Hospital
Mote Marine Laboratory

1/21 The calf and cow arrived at Mote's Dolphin and Whale Hospital at about 1930 hrs (7:30pm). They were transferred from the Marine Animal Rescue Society of Miami by staff of Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institution. The calf is alert but weak and the cow is very weak. Blood and cultures were taken from both animals, and an ECG was taken of the cow. The cow is exhibiting gastric stasis. Both have been given fluids via stomach tube. Blood tests reveal that the calf has very little wrong, but the cow appears to have the same condition that Hutch and Dana had last year. Both of those died shortly after arrival. 1/22 Both animals are supporting themselves in the water and making some attempts to swim. The calf actually nursed from the cow last night and we are regularly collecting milk from the cow to give to the calf. The stomach of the cow is responding to treatment. 1/23 Both animals seem ready to swim on their own. Will try this afternoon to allow them to swim. Cow seems to be improving. 1/24 Since both animals appear to be doing well, they have finally been named. The cow is Mia and the calf is Ami (since they stranded near MiAmi). Both are supporting themselves in the water almost all the time and are swimming on their own a majority of the time. Mia began eating some squid this morning. We are never optimistic about Kogias but we are hopeful they will both survive. 1/24PM Mia took a sudden downward turn this afternoon. She began arching and within 30 minutes she died. Blood tests from this morning indicated a rapidly developing electrolyte imbalance and an extreme neutropenia (severe depletion of white cells probably indicating a viral etiology). A necropsy will be performed tomorrow afternoon. Samples have been taken, and more will be taken during the necropsy, to attempt to isolate the viral agent responsible for the disease process. Ami continues to swim much of the time on her own and is receiving formula about every three hours around the clock. 1/25 Necropsy on Mia revealed mild erosions in the second (glandular) stomach, enlarged liver, and large numbers of parasites in the blubber, urinary bladder (probably from kidneys), lungs, muscle areas of the neck, stomach, and intestinal tract. Otherwise, necropsy was unremarkable. Final diagnosis awaits pathology report and virus isolation which will take about two to three months. Ami, the calf, continues to do fairly well. She is supporting herself and swimming most of the time. Chest radiographs (x-rays) revealed no pneumonia and her blood work continues to be good.

Ami free swimming.

1/26 Very little change. Calf is taking more formula every day, but is still somewhat weak. 1/27 Ami now appears to be getting stronger by the hour. She is swimming around the entire tank and is initiating contact with some of the enrichment devices that are placed in her tank. 1/28 Ami continues to gain strength and swim more. A volunteer is in the water with her but she is seldom being held. She is now gaining weight (current weight from 1/27 was 46.5 kg = 102 lbs). 1/29 Ami gained another two pounds (1 kg) in the last two days. She is somewhat lethargic today, but is swimming on her own all the time. 1/30 Calf is less lethargic today. Her electrolyte levels that were down yesterday are increasing again. 1/31 The calf continues to get stronger each day with more active swimming each day. 2/1 No major changes today. 2/2 Ami's white count started up last evening so she was started on two different antibiotics, one oral and one injectable. This morning, she developed a lot of gastric gas and colic. We have initiated treatment but are guessing that it may be one ingredient in the formula that is not setting well. Will try modifying the formula to eliminate the problem. 2/3 Ami seems better this morning. White count has quit increasing so the antibiotics seem to be working. 2/4 Calf is showing a dramatic improvement. White count is down significantly and she is swimming more. Modification of the formula seems to have solved the problem. 2/5 Ami appears to be the strongest she has been since she arrived. Her white count has gone back up a little, so we have switched antibiotics, but overall, she looks better. Her swimming pattern is now similar to that of other calves that we have treated. 2/6 Getting stronger and more active every day. 2/7 Calf seems to be developing a stomach infection but it is responding to antibiotics. White count is coming down and she is feeling so good, she is getting to be a "handful" when it comes time to catch her. 2/8 Continued improvement. 2/9 Last night Ami finally made the connection between the feeding tube and nourishment and she is now coming to the feeder with her mouth open to accept the tube. She no longer must be held for her feed. She is more playful and is jumping over a rub-line that floats on top of the water. 2/10 Appetite is excellent and she is more playful every day. Although her weight gain had stopped for a few days, she is now gaining weight again. 2/11 Ami developed a little stomach cramping. We will be taking some samples in the morning to determine the cause. 2/12 Much less cramping today. More eager to eat. White count down. 2/13 Continued improvement. 2/14 Ami has some digestive upset today. We are concerned that she may be developing gastric ulcers. 2/15 New medication seems to be helping a lot. Not so much digestive upset. White count is normal and she has been taken off the antibiotics. 2/16 Back to some digestive upset again. 2/17 Taking 6 out of 8 feeds per day. Still gaining weight, but only a half pound a day. 2/18 Ami has a better appetite now. White count is staying normal and blood chemistries are all within normal limits. There are fewer digestive problems today. 2/19 Continued improvement. Now taking 7 out of 8 feeds per day. 2/20 More of the same. 2/21 We are making formula modifications to reduce gas problems. She is quite playful today. 2/22 Ami had some stomach problems last evening due to the Prevacid she had been given. We are switching her to Prilosec instead. All blood values are staying normal. 2/23 Prilosec seems to be doing the job. Appetite is much better. 2/24 Continued improvement. 2/26 Appetite is finally very good. She is taking all feeds and still wants more, so we are increasing the volume of formula in each feed. She continues to gain weight. 2/27 Ami is eating and playing and has been taken off most medications. 2/28 Ami is behaving like a healthy whale, eating everything we offer her. Her caloric intake is finally at the level that we want. 3/1 There appear to be less stereotypical swimming in circles and more interactions every day. 3/2 Doing very well today. 3/4 Ami continues to do well. Updates will now be every other day unless a major change takes place. 3/5 Exam this morning indicated that Ami is doing very well. She gained about 10 pounds in the last week (now weighs 54.5 kg or 120 pounds). Her blood values are all within normal limits. She has been off all antibiotics for about 2 weeks and was taken off antifungals this morning. The only problem we can find is some stomach irritation that she is being treated for with prevacid. 3/7 Ami is continuing to do very well. No changes. 3/9 Ami has not missed a meal in over 4 days. Looking very good. 3/11 Calf has developed a little diarrhea but is still eating very well. Behavior is great. 3/12 Ami has gained another 3 kg (6.6 lbs) in the last week. Blood values continue to be normal, and the stomach irritation seems to be greatly reduced. 3/13 Very active and playful. Doing great. 3/19 Ami continues to do very, very well. Exam this morning went well. Ami now weighs 62.0kg (136.4 lb) and is 152cm (60 in) in length. She is 33 pounds heavier and is 5.5 inches longer than when she arrived 58 days ago. 3/21 Continuing to do very well. 3/23 Not as hungry as on previous days. 3/24 Ami's appetite back to normal after about 12 hours. 3/26 Ami had diarrhea last night but is fine this morning. Weight this morning was 64.5 kg (142 lb) and exam went well. 3/28 No more diarrhea. We have raised the water level for her and she seems to be doing better in the deeper water. Appetite is great. 4/1 Occasionally Ami regurgitates a little formula during feed. Will plan to do gastroscopy to try to determine cause tomorrow during weekly exam. Otherwise, doing very well. 4/2 Weekly exam indicated Ami is still gaining weight (now 68.0 kg or 150 lb) and length (now 157 cm or 62 inches). Gastroscopy revealed several lesions in the lower esophagus and stomach that appear to be fungal infections. Biopsies and cultures were taken and new medication has already been started. 4/5 Ami had some discomfort this morning from intestinal gas (probably as a result of the gastroscopy procedure) but she seems to have passed all the gas and is behaving normally again. No other problems. 4/7 Doing well. 4/9 Weekly exam revealed improvement in fungal infection. She weighed 71 kg (156.2 lbs - up 6.6 lbs from last week) and her total length was 160 cm (63 inches - up one inch in one week!). Appetite is very good and she has started playing with whole dead squid. Hopefully, she will begin eating them soon. Examination of her right eye (the first time we have been able to examine it since she arrived) indicated that the eye may be reduced in size, but she seems to be able to at least see light from it. 4/11 Ami is doing very well. We have raised the water level again (now a little over 2 meters deep) and have installed a safety net over the top (to keep her from jumping out of the tank). 4/13 Ami has a little digestive upset this morning but seems to be minor. Doing well otherwise. Will be raising the dosage of prevacid. 4/16 Digestive upset lasted one day and she is back to her usual now. Exam went well with her current weight at 74 kg (163 lbs - up another 6.6 lbs from last week). 4/18 Continuing to eat well and be very playful. 4/20 No change in the last few days. 4/23 Weekly exam went well. Ami is now 76 kg (167 lbs). We plan to do a gastroscopy on Wednesday to evaluate the stomach. 4/25 Gastroscopy this morning revealed that the ulcers in the first stomach are completely healed and the yeast infection is almost completely gone. There appears to be a bacterial infection further down the tract and we have started her on antibiotics for that. Her length today was 165 cm (5'5", up two inches in only two weeks). 4/27 Ami is a little hesitant to eat today, probably caused by the gastroscopy procedure on Wednesday. 5/1 Exam yesterday was fine. Ami now weighs 79 kg (173.8 lb). Her medication has been changed and she is more active and eating well. 5/3 No change. 5/7 Exam was good this morning. Ami's weight is now 82 kg (180.4 lb) and length is 170 cm (5'7"). Intestinal problem seems to be resolving. 5/9 We have now raised the water in Ami's tank such that it is approximately 9 feet deep. This allows us to feed her from the side of the tank instead of inside the tank. Ami is a little slow to adjust to the change in feeding routine but is doing very well otherwise. 5/12 Ami continues to do well. She is now eating some squid in addition to her milk formula. 5/14 Doing very well. Weight this morning was 85.5 kg (188.1 lb) so weight gain is getting even better. We are hoping to take her off several medications for her stomach in the next few days. 5/16 Ami continues to do very well. She has been taken off most medications. She is eating more squid every day but is still receiving formula five times per day. 5/18 Continues doing very well. 5/21 Today's weight is 89 kg (195.8 lb) and she has grown another cm in length. She seems to be increasing in girth rather than length at this time. Appetite and attitude are great. 5/23 Continuing to do very well. 5/25 More of the same. 5/28 Ami continues to do well. Today's weight is 91.5 kg (201 lbs). Very playful. 5/30 Doing well. 6/1 No change. Today Ami became the second longest living orphan Kogia, surpassing Summer's [click on rescue] 133 days. 6/4 Exam today revealed an area on the skin of her ventral abdomen that appears infected. Area was treated topically. Weight today was 94.0 kg (207 lb) and length was 179 cm (5/10.5"). 6/6 Infected area is much better today. Doing very well. 6/8 Infected area continues to heal. Behavior is "normal". 6/11 Today's weight was 96.0 kg (211.2 lb). Infected area continues to heal well. 6/13 No change. 6/15 Still doing very well. 6/18 Yesterday Ami broke the record for the longest time in captivity of an orphan pygmy sperm whale (previously held by Juno). Today her weight was 100 kg (220 lb) and her length was 182 cm (6'). Infected area is healing well as it is now about one quarter its original size. 6/20 Infected area continues to heal quickly. 6/24 Continuing to do very well. 6/25 Exam this morning was good. Her weight is now 103.5 kg (227.7 lb) so she continue to grow. Infected area is almost healed. 6/27 Doing great, no change. 6/29 Doing well enough to tie the world Kogia record for time in captivity today (the record held by Inky). 7/1 Ami broke the record yesterday and is doing well today. 7/2 Today's weight is 107.5 kg (236.5 lb) and her total length is 188 cm (6'2"). She is obviously growing well. 7/5 Continuing to do well. 7/7 No change. 7/9 Ami continues to do well. She is still in the weaning process- taking 2 liters of an artificial formula and approximately 6 pounds of solid food (squid) each day. 7/11 No change. 7/13 Nemo is being placed into Ami's tank with her today to determine how they will get along. 7/14 Ami and Nemo are together and doing very well. 7/16 Both whales are still together but they seem to be ignoring each other. Ami's weight this morning was 110.5 kg (243.1 lb) and her length was unchanged. 7/18 Ami seems to be trying to interact with Nemo but he appears to not want to interact. Ami's appetite is good. 7/22 Ami continues to do well. Still very little interaction.

Other Ami sites

Mia's Main Page