Stranded dolphin dies after attempted rescue
A six foot, 140 pound dolphin washed up ashore Friday morning in Queens, New York. Locals and police officers attempted rescue as the poor female dolphin held on for life. They poured fresh water on the dolphin until rescuers from a marine-mammal stranding center 65 miles away could reach her.
Officers report that the dolphin died while being transported to Riverhead Foundation for Marine Research and Preservation on Long Island. As The New York Times reports, Robert DiGiovanni, Jr., the Riverhead Foundation’s executive director and senior biologist, said, “[The dolphin] wasn’t fighting that much, which is always a concern for us.”
Although the mammal was well-hydrated, officials point out that a previous illness had already stricken the animal causing it to already be malnourished. Barnacles were found on her flipper which DiGiovanni says “indicate an animal that wasn’t moving very fast,” the New York reports.
The Riverhead Foundation points out that strandings usually occur because the animal is stressed or is in an area lacking food or some other stressor in the environment.
The death occurred around 3:15 p.m. and the cause of death is to be determined via a necropsy.
The New York Times reports DiGiovanni saying, “It’s uncommon for us to get a live animal, so whenever we do get that we go to great lengths to try to nurse them back to health. Unfortunately, often when we get them back to the facility and they’re too compromised.”
