Stranded whales bonding and recovering at IMMS in Gulfport - WLOX.com - The News for South Mississippi They're currently being held at the Institute for Marine Mammal Studies. This is one of my favorite ceta species so I'm gonna pay special attention to this, ha ha.
I had a quick Google. Case of mistaken cetaceans: IMMS staff now believe it's pygmy killer whales they rescued | Gulfport | The Sun Herald
Whoops, I meant to post a different article! Like Chlidonias says, they were initially believed to be melon headed whales but were properly identified soon after. I get pretty excited about Gulf of Mexico rescues like these since the Gulf has a wide variety of cetacean species, but most of them hang out in the deeper water and they aren't seen as often. I'm hoping the NOAA or something can use the opportunity to learn about these guys. Pygmy killer whales in general aren't very well-studied.
WLOX News This Week: Whale Rehab - WLOX.com - The News for South Mississippi Interview with the director of IMMS.
Both species are seen so infrequently I'm not surprised that there was some initial confusion as to what species they are. Best of luck to them all!
Rescued whales making strides in recovery - WLOX.com - The News for South Mississippi The health of the little whales seems to be improving. Hearing tests are being done on the animals. No prediction on when (or if) they get released. Pretty impressive that the facility has been able to get them to good health, considering that very little is known about this species.
I have to wonder if eventually we'll discover that there are multiple species/subspecies of the Pygmy Killer Whales, not to mention other cetaceans.
It would be interesting. There's speculation that there are different subspecies of orca, but there's not really enough research to know for sure. When it comes to lesser known, open-water species like the pygmy killer whale, we probably won't know for a long time. So much of the ocean is unexplored and under-researched, and unless there's an increased public interest in some of the more obscure cetacean species, it'll probably be a while before there's much in-depth research. But it would be pretty awesome. Pygmy killer whales are of my favorite animals, and from what little we know about them, they're pretty fascinating. They're a pretty widespread species, so I think there's a good chance of multiple species/subspecies existing.
Against odds; whales beached in Waveland continue to improve | wwltv.com So this article is a month old, but I'm glad I found something. The whales are doing okay, thankfully. They can hear and echolocate, but more tests need to be done to see if they can be released. If they are releasable, the rescuers must still find a pod to take them in. That could prove challenging, as this species lives out in the deeper water.
Pod of orcas seen in Gulf of Mexico | WTSP.com While this article is not about the two pygmy killer whales, it does mention that they may be released within a month.
tying up the thread, the pigmy killer whales were released in July. Pygmy killer whales returned to the Gulf of Mexico | SunHerald
