Many people feel a deep connection to animals. This is usually because they are fuzzy, innocent, bright-eyed, and willing to devote their love unconditionally. L ovable animals come in all shapes and sizes, even very large.

According to Greg Lewbart , professor of aquatic, wildlife, and zoologic medicine, this is especially true of marine mammals that have personalities and charisma. Humans tend to grow close to animals, and feel sympathy for them when they are in pain.

On Jan. 25, Craig Harms, associate professor of aquatic, wildlife, and zoologic medicine at N.C . State’s Center for Marine Sciences and Technology in Morehead City, had to confront a heartbreaking situation when a young minke whale ended up stranded on a remote part of the beach called the bight.

According to Harms, an initial report came in to his office at 1:20 p.m . that day simply saying there was a large marine mammal out on the beach. However, going out there, he was already pretty sure what he and his crew were going to have to do.

After traveling a little more than two hours by car and then boat, he and his crew came face to face with a slowly dying minke whale calf. It was low tide and it was clear that the whale had already been in the sun for about six hours. With its back already blistered, which is comparable to a serious burn for a marine mammal, and no sign of a mother, there was already no hope for survival.

“[With] no sign of [the mother] around and… with it being too large to transport,…the only humane thing to we could do was to euthanize it…It’s not very uplifting but it is the humane thing to do,” Harms said. “I didn’t really think I’d be euthanizing marine mammals [when I went into veterinary medicine] and it’s definitely not an uplifting thing to do but it is a part of our veterinary oath to relieve animal suffering and it is an important thing and it is a real privilege to work with the animals in their distress. Although it is also distressing for the people, it is fortunate that we have that option to relieve that suffering [for animals],”

According to Harms, the euthanizing allows the suffering animal to have a peaceful and easy death.

“[The euthanization process is] very much like what happens in a veterinary clinic with aging pets,” said Harms. “We give an overdose of anesthetic…it stops the heart, it stops the brain function…it’s about as humane a way to go about it as it is in a difficult situation.”

However, as with any human intervention in a natural process, the intervention comes with certain responsibilities. According to Harms, the lethal overdose of anesthetic can harm scavengers that try to feed on the carcasses of euthanized animals so he and his team have to transport the carcass every time they euthanize .

Despite the fact that the carcass does go to help researchers study the anatomy of marine mammals, the emotions still weigh heavy on Harms and his team.

“An argument can certainly be made that this is a natural occurrence and it happened on a national seashore and why not let nature take its course…it has been happening for a millennia and can certainly provide a lot of food for crabs and some gulls by leaving it out there. It’s just that when people hear about a stranded whale in distress, the thought of just leaving it out there is really tough and [we] have made the decision that when we can do something about relieving animal suffering, we will,” Harms said.

His colleagues agree.

“In my mind, if I came upon a stranded animal, a wild animal or any animal that is suffering and unrecoverable, I would elect for euthanasia of that animal,” Lewbart said. “…but to me I don’t see it as a controversy [because] as a veterinarian, one of the things I’m sort of bound to is to relieve animal suffering and if that means there’s an animal suffering in front of me and I have the means to kill it humanely–to euthanize it, I’ll do that and then deal with the fallout whether that is safe removal of the carcass or trying to rationalize that with the media or the public because there are a lot of emotions around marine animals.”

For many researchers, these emotions that marine animals provoke are what keeps them coming back despite whatever trails they may face during the day.

“There’s a certain emotional tug that marine mammals have and even on someone like myself,” Lewbart said. “When you look at something like a beluga whale it can actually twist its head…or dolphins like the bottlenose dolphin…it sort of has this perpetual smile, of course it’s not really a smile, it’s just the conformation of the mouth but even for someone like me who tries to be objective and scientific…there’s a different sort of feel…I feel a connection to the water, to the sea, and I always have.”

It is due to these connections that drive researchers to take pity on animals, to care about pollution, to care about over-fishing, and to care about the environment. It is not just the researchers who feel this way.

“I am incredibly passionate about the animal kingdom. I have always been fascinated by anything that hops, crawls, swims or flies,” said Carley Miller a senior in interdisciplinary studies.

For Miller, that passion led her to found, with a few of her friends, the “Roots and Shoots” club at the University. It is a club that seeks to make positive changes for people, animals and the environment.

“I believe that the university experience exists to familiarize students with all the problems that this world faces. Then it is your responsibility to dedicate yourself to one of these issues, the one where you can make the most positive impact, and then spend the rest of your university career equipping yourself with the skills and knowledge to tackle this problem once you graduate.”