Scientists succeeded in giving an antibiotic shot to a badly injured newborn whale they have been tracking off the coasts of Georgia and Florida, hoping to improve what experts stressed Thursday remain grim odds for the endangered sea animal.
A crew of trained specialists got close enough to the injured right whale calf and its mother off the coast of Fernandina Beach, Florida, on Wednesday to inject the baby using a syringe fired from an air gun, said Barb Zoodsma, who oversees the right whale recovery program in the U.S. Southeast for the National Marine Fisheries Service.
“This is a very valuable animal with tremendous conservation value,” said Hendrik Nollens, a veterinarian who was part of the boat crew. “If there’s anything we can do to improve its chances by giving extra coverage (with antibiotics), we should do that.”
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