Dolphin Beached At Wild Harbor Dies
A common dolphin died after beaching itself in Wild Harbor in Falmouth on Saturday, April 2.
Barbara P. Schneider, a 20-year marine mammal rescue veteran with the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW), said the dolphin had been circling Wild Harbor for a few hours before IFAW was contacted to check on the animal. The dolphin swam in circles that continued to narrow until it finally beached itself on a bed of oyster shells near the shore, Ms. Schneider said, noting that that was not a positive development because oyster shells tend to be sharp.
Ms. Schneider also said that IFAW experts recognized immediately that a single marine mammal swimming in circles is usually a bad sign, something onlookers usually are not aware of.
“Everybody was so excited, they thought they were seeing this wonderful thing,” Ms. Schneider said. “It was just sad. People get attached and they think it’s all fun in the beginning and then you kind of realize that this isn’t so normal.”
Ms. Schneider said the onlookers were cooperative and gave the rescuers space to do their work, which was incredibly helpful.
Dan Small, a North Falmouth resident, witnessed the event from his car while driving by the area along the inner harbor and said he saw people tending to the bleeding dolphin and pouring water on it.
“Unfortunately at that time, the ambulance for dolphins was in Provincetown rescuing and releasing another animal,” Ms. Schneider said. “As soon as it could come it did; we lifted the animal, who had been bleeding for some time—not terrible bleeding but still, you could see it was getting weaker and arching and struggling. It couldn’t have been in the truck for five minutes and it succumbed.”
It is unclear what caused the dolphin’s death; Ms. Schneider said there are various viruses and parasites that could cause a dolphin to stray off from the pack and, more specifically, to swim in circles the way this one did. A necropsy will likely be done to determine a possible cause.
“It could be a lot of things,” she said. “We didn’t see any big injuries on the animal. We did see some little things, nothing terrible…unfortunately, we saved one that day and we didn’t get to save one that day. We tried.”
While this incident had an unfortunate ending, Ms. Schneider thinks it could be a learning opportunity for the community, the lesson being that residents of Falmouth should be on the lookout for stray marine animals and know who to contact should one be spotted.
“Please, if you see any single animal, it’s always better to call IFAW and to keep the hotline in your phone,” she said. “Everyone in this town should keep [the hotline number] and anytime they see a marine mammal [that appears to be in distress], it’s better to call and let us make the decision of if it’s worth checking on.”
IFAW asks that anyone who sees any stranded marine animal report it to its marine mammal rescue hotline: 508-743-9548.