Since 2009 CIMA Research Foundation has been nominated by the Province of Savona as a consultant for cetacean strandings. The project has been launched for research purposes in collaboration with the Port of Savona, IZSTO (Experimental Zooprophylactic Institute for Piedmont, Liguria and Valle d’Aosta), the Savona Public Health Institution (ASL), the University of Pavia, the Museum of Natural History in Milan and the University of Padua’s Tissue Bank.
In the case of animals stranding, CIMA Research Foundation provides advice to the Port Authority for managing the event. On average 2 to 5 standings happen per year; it is crucial to recognize the species and to coordinate the removal operations, allowing veterinarians to collect specimens that can provide useful data for research purposes. With this collaboration, CIMA Research Foundation has developed MaMas, an app for reporting cetacean’s sighting and stranding by citizens.
Thanks to the collaboration with IZSTO (headquarters of Savona and Imperia), the post-mortem exams enable the diagnosis of the possible death causes of the animal. The data collected are then shared with the Stranding Database and with the Mediterranean Mammals Tissue Bank.