FIRST RECORD OF AN EYE DISEASE IN THE BOWHEAD WHALE (BALAENA MYSTICETUS)

摘要

Bowhead whale (Balaena mysticetus) is a Highly valued species, and of importance to the Alaskan coast Eskimos who harvest it as their traditional food resource. It is known as the ice whale because it spends much of its life in the ice. It was surprising to find a case of eye disease in the eye specimens from the bowhead whales harvested in the cold environment at Barrow, Alaska, USA. Some basic information is presented below. Bowhead whale 96B14 was harvested by whaling captain Jacob Adams on September 16, 1996. This whale was a female with body length of 8.33 m. The cornea of both eyes was opaque. Limbus of both eyes had abnormal blisters. The left eye had one raised area at the medial aspect of the limbus (Plate I a). The right eye had three raised vascular soft growths at the dorsal, ventral, and medial aspects of the limbus, respectively (Plate I b). Each of the blisters of the right eye and left eye was approximately 1 cm X 1 cm.