PMBC Chief Kongkiat Kittiwatanawong confirmed to The Phuket News, “The dwarf sperm whale named ‘Hope’ died at 11:23pm last night (Aug 12) after it looks like he contracted an infection two days ago.”
Hope had been well on the road to recovery under 24-hour care at the PMBC since he was rescued by villagers in Phang Nga on Aug 4.
Hope was found beached alongside his mother.
Both he and mother had severe skin abrasions from being beached on the sand.
Hope’s mother also had an infection. She did not survive. (See story here.)
“We had tried as much as we could to help him. We looked after him with constant care, and continuously fed him supplements for nine days,” Dr Kongkiat said this morning.
“However, he still contracted an infection. He suffered severe dehydration, his liver and kidneys were working too hard, and he had muscle strain,” Dr Kongkiat said.
“An ultrasound scan showed that he had a lot of gas in his stomach and intestines, and there was more movement in his intestine than usual,” he added.
“In the end, Hope finally succumbed to pain and septic shock, sepsis and severe dehydration,” the PMBC Chief confirmed.