Humpback whale Timmy is still keeping Germany in suspense – but what about laboratory values in whales? MedLabPortal summarizes the scientific state of affairs using the example of the blue whale . The blue whale is the largest animal on earth. Blood tests on wild blue whales are extremely rare and technically highly complex. Therefore, there are no established reference values (norm values) for haematological or clinical-chemical parameters of this type from larger populations.

Current data situation

• Almost all available blood values come from individual cases of stranded or rehabilitated animals.
• There are no systematic studies with a sufficiently large sample.
• Most of the published values refer to related species such as humpback whales, fin whales or pilot whales, which are sometimes used as an approximation.

Which laboratory parameters are particularly meaningful for large whales?

If blood can be obtained, the following parameters provide the most important information about the state of health:

Special features of the blue whale

• Blue whales are extremely deep-diving animals. Your blood count is designed for a very high oxygen capacity (high hematocrit and hemoglobin content).
• In stranded animals, blood values often show signs of dehydration, stress and secondary infections.
• A special feature in the Baltic Sea (as in the current case of Timmy, who is a humpback whale) is the low salinity of the water, which can lead to electrolyte shifts.

Conclusion
There are currently no valid reference ranges for blood values of the blue whale. Each individual blood test of a blue or humpback whale is an individual case and is interpreted primarily clinically (together with ultrasound, behaviour and skin findings). Concrete published laboratory values of wild or freshly stranded blue whales are extremely rare.

If new blood values from a blue whale are published, they usually appear in journals such as Marine Mammal Science, Journal of Wildlife Diseases or reports from stranding networks.

Read Also:

Editorial: What laboratory medicine can learn from Wal Timmy in terms of resilience – MedLabPortal

Wal Timmy: Germany’s problem with euthanasia – MedLabPortal

Editor: X-Press Journalistenbüro GbR

Gender Notice. The personal designations used in this text always refer equally to female, male and diverse persons. Double/triple naming and gendered designations are used for better readability. ected.