Ill, Orphaned Orca May Be Diabetic

SEATTLE —  Blood tests on an orphaned orca that’s been making her home in nearby waters show she has no genetic disorder affecting her metabolism, the National Marine Fisheries Service said.

That’s good news for the killer whale. The only way to treat a genetic disorder would have been to regulate her diet, which would have meant a lifetime of captivity.

But now scientists are perplexed about what is causing the young whale’s most puzzling symptom: ketosis--breath that smells like paint thinner.

Ketosis also occurs in humans and has three known causes: the genetic disorder scientists checked for, starvation and diabetes.

The young orca doesn’t have the disorder and has been eating well, fisheries service spokeswoman Janet Sears said Thursday night. That leaves diabetes, which scientists didn’t think orcas could have.

“Now we have to go back and reassess the diabetes, which people didn’t think possible,” she said.

The fisheries service plans to reconvene a panel of scientists Monday to evaluate the blood test results.

Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.) also weighed in on the issue.

“This orca needs a decision and an action plan,” she said in a letter to Bob Lohn, regional director for the fisheries service. “We cannot afford to let indecision on timing determine this orphaned orca’s fate.”

The whale was orphaned last year and separated from her family. She wandered into Puget Sound and has spent the last four months near the Vashon Island ferry dock. She’s thinner than she should be, but has been successfully hunting steelhead trout.

The Vancouver Aquarium in British Columbia has offered to help care for the whale and possibly return her to her family, which spends the summer in waters off Vancouver Island, but was pressing the fisheries service for a decision on whether to try to capture her. Aquarium officials had said they needed a decision on any intervention effort by Wednesday.

But with the blood test results in, the aquarium has become more flexible, Sears said.

“We’ve been working with them informally on that,” she said. “We’ll be looking at all of that and trying to sort it out next week.”