Wayward dolphin rescued on Wellfleet beach; stranding total rises to 147
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On the 28th day of the largest single-species stranding event on record in the northeastern United States, the International Fund for Animal Welfare said one more dolphin stranded itself in Wellfleet, bringing the total to 147 common dolphins.
Michael Booth, spokesman for the animal welfare organization, said crews rescued the dolphin from the banks of Herring River in Wellfleet this morning. Two other dolphins were seen swimming in the area.
“They had one dolphin out of the water and two swimming,’’ Booth said. “They were debating what to do with the two swimming, and attempted to herd the dolphins out into the harbor.’’
Crews attended to the stranded dolphin and performed a complete medical assessment, Booth said. Because low tide is not until 6 p.m. in Wellfleet, the crews decided to quickly release the stranded dolphin while they had higher water levels.
“They put that dolphin back in with other two and made good progress to get them up the river and out to the bay,’’ Booth said. “They may turn around at some point, but we’re trying our best to herd them out while we still have some water.’’
Of the 147 dolphins that have stranded themselves on the 25-mile stretch of coast between Dennis and Wellfleet since mid-January, the group successfully released 38 dolphins into deeper water; 109 have died.
Along with Australia and New Zealand, Cape Cod is one of the top three stranding locations in the world, according to IFAW. For more information, visit IFAW.org.
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