Sushihunter
Active Member
http://www.kitsapsun.com/news/2009/mar/26/salmon-oddity-rears-its-heads-again-in-central/
Salmon Oddity Rears Its Heads Again in Central Kitsap
SILVERDALE — These chum salmon are particularly, well, chummy.
From a salmon egg hatched in early February at Woodlands Elementary emerged a fry (fries?) with two heads.
"I guess we got a special egg this year," said Jeff Sullivan, a learning specialist who has managed the Central Kitsap school's Salmon in the Classroom program for the last 13 years. Sullivan has never seen anything like the creature.
It (they?) is (are?) not officially named, well, except for "Jonathan Michael," as proposed by the 6-year-old daughter of the school's librarian.
Sullivan promised Woodlands students that if it survives through spring break, which is next week, the school would hold an official naming contest. The creature has fascinated students, who gather around the tank in the school library to speculate on its ability to survive and how it came to be.
"I was amazed because I'd never seen a two-headed fish before," said Angel Prewitt, a fourth-grader who was in the group that first discovered the fish. Prewitt and her classmates have discussed how the fish developed, including a theory that two eggs fused together.
While the fish has Woodlands students talking, it's actually not the first one in a Central Kitsap school.
Seven years ago, science teacher Terry Donison and her students at Ridgetop Junior High discovered a two-headed salmon in their tank. They promptly dubbed the creature "Sam and Ella." It garnered attention from New Zealand to Florida, where the News of the World tabloid, which begged for photos, is headquartered.
At the time, Sam and Ella stumped a state fish and wildlife expert, who attributed the oddity to "environmental factors," such the as jiggling of the eggs during transport. Sam and Ella survived almost four months before dying in early April 2002.
Fast-forward to 2009 and a quick Google search reveals reports of other two-headed salmon in classroom tanks in Michigan, Seattle and British Columbia.
Washington state Department of Fish and Wildlife spokesman Craig Bartlett reports that two-headed salmon are "unusual, but not unheard of by any means." They have only been spotted in captivity, along with fellow mutants like albino salmon and two-tailed salmon. Obviously, survival in the wild is difficult for salmon, even those with just one head, Bartlett said. Besides, he added with a chuckle: "It would have a hard time deciding where to go."
There are many reasons why the developmental defect, also known as axial bifurcation, occurs. Pollution in the water can be a cause, as well as "mechanical shocks," which basically means jiggling the egg tray. Heat could cause it. A genetic mutation is a distant possibility, Bartlett said.
Woodlands' two-headed salmon came from the Central Kitsap Kiwanis Club's Salmon in the Classroom program. For the last 21 years, Kiwanis have delivered salmon eggs to schools all over Kitsap County.
"We're interested in the kids learning at an early age the kinds of things that affect habitat for the fish as far as water quality and things like that," club member Bruce VanWoudenberg said. This year, the Kiwanis have 31 aquaria in 24 public and private schools.
The Kiwanis Club gets the eggs from the Suquamish hatchery. Between 150 and 300 eggs are distributed annually to each aquarium in early January. Students and teachers monitor the eggs and make sure the water in the specially-built tanks is kept cold enough. About a month later, the eggs hatch. The salmon live off little yolk sacs for quite awhile until they begin to eat fish food. In mid-March the students take field trips to Clear Creek, where the salmon are released.
Woodlands' two-headed salmon didn't make the trip to Clear Creek with its tank mates on March 17. Sullivan is now keeping the fish in a tiny clear plastic tank so it's easy to spot.
"I have no idea how long this creature will survive," Sullivan wrote in the school newsletter recently. "I will try to keep him safe and comfortable for as long as his gills can flap, and while he is with us he can continue to provide lessons to Woodlands students about the fragility of life and the unpredictable nature of nature."
Jim's Fishing Charters
www.JimsFishing.com
http://ca.youtube.com/user/Sushihunter250
Salmon Oddity Rears Its Heads Again in Central Kitsap
SILVERDALE — These chum salmon are particularly, well, chummy.
From a salmon egg hatched in early February at Woodlands Elementary emerged a fry (fries?) with two heads.
"I guess we got a special egg this year," said Jeff Sullivan, a learning specialist who has managed the Central Kitsap school's Salmon in the Classroom program for the last 13 years. Sullivan has never seen anything like the creature.
It (they?) is (are?) not officially named, well, except for "Jonathan Michael," as proposed by the 6-year-old daughter of the school's librarian.
Sullivan promised Woodlands students that if it survives through spring break, which is next week, the school would hold an official naming contest. The creature has fascinated students, who gather around the tank in the school library to speculate on its ability to survive and how it came to be.
"I was amazed because I'd never seen a two-headed fish before," said Angel Prewitt, a fourth-grader who was in the group that first discovered the fish. Prewitt and her classmates have discussed how the fish developed, including a theory that two eggs fused together.
While the fish has Woodlands students talking, it's actually not the first one in a Central Kitsap school.
Seven years ago, science teacher Terry Donison and her students at Ridgetop Junior High discovered a two-headed salmon in their tank. They promptly dubbed the creature "Sam and Ella." It garnered attention from New Zealand to Florida, where the News of the World tabloid, which begged for photos, is headquartered.
At the time, Sam and Ella stumped a state fish and wildlife expert, who attributed the oddity to "environmental factors," such the as jiggling of the eggs during transport. Sam and Ella survived almost four months before dying in early April 2002.
Fast-forward to 2009 and a quick Google search reveals reports of other two-headed salmon in classroom tanks in Michigan, Seattle and British Columbia.
Washington state Department of Fish and Wildlife spokesman Craig Bartlett reports that two-headed salmon are "unusual, but not unheard of by any means." They have only been spotted in captivity, along with fellow mutants like albino salmon and two-tailed salmon. Obviously, survival in the wild is difficult for salmon, even those with just one head, Bartlett said. Besides, he added with a chuckle: "It would have a hard time deciding where to go."
There are many reasons why the developmental defect, also known as axial bifurcation, occurs. Pollution in the water can be a cause, as well as "mechanical shocks," which basically means jiggling the egg tray. Heat could cause it. A genetic mutation is a distant possibility, Bartlett said.
Woodlands' two-headed salmon came from the Central Kitsap Kiwanis Club's Salmon in the Classroom program. For the last 21 years, Kiwanis have delivered salmon eggs to schools all over Kitsap County.
"We're interested in the kids learning at an early age the kinds of things that affect habitat for the fish as far as water quality and things like that," club member Bruce VanWoudenberg said. This year, the Kiwanis have 31 aquaria in 24 public and private schools.
The Kiwanis Club gets the eggs from the Suquamish hatchery. Between 150 and 300 eggs are distributed annually to each aquarium in early January. Students and teachers monitor the eggs and make sure the water in the specially-built tanks is kept cold enough. About a month later, the eggs hatch. The salmon live off little yolk sacs for quite awhile until they begin to eat fish food. In mid-March the students take field trips to Clear Creek, where the salmon are released.
Woodlands' two-headed salmon didn't make the trip to Clear Creek with its tank mates on March 17. Sullivan is now keeping the fish in a tiny clear plastic tank so it's easy to spot.
"I have no idea how long this creature will survive," Sullivan wrote in the school newsletter recently. "I will try to keep him safe and comfortable for as long as his gills can flap, and while he is with us he can continue to provide lessons to Woodlands students about the fragility of life and the unpredictable nature of nature."
Jim's Fishing Charters
www.JimsFishing.com
http://ca.youtube.com/user/Sushihunter250
