Cape & Islands News

Three more dolphins herded to safety Wednesday

Stranding numbers continue to rise

IFAW rescuers tend to one of three dolphins eventually herded out to deeper water Wednesday. Herring River, Wellfleet. © IFAW/K. Branon.

International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) rescue teams were back in action Wednesday, coming to the aid of three dolphins in Wellfleet. Around 10:30 a.m., Wednesday morning, IFAW Communication Officer Michael Booth reported that two off the dolphins were still swimming, while one had stranded.

The dolphins were inside Wellfleet Harbor at the Herring River and according to Booth, the plan was to get the three into deeper water before low tide Wednesday evening at 6 p.m.

Roughly four hours later, it was reported that the rescue team was herding the dolphins out of the harbor towards deeper water. The stranded dolphin was placed back in the water with the two that were still swimming and rescuers used an inflatable zodiac to zig-zag behind the dolphins and move them out of the harbor. 

The process, although slow, according to Booth, was successful.

Not counting the dolphins that were encountered today, the total strandings since January 12 stands at 146 total stranded.  Of those numbers, 92 were found dead and 54 were found alive. Of those 54, 37 were successfully rescued and released by IFAW rescue teams.

In a teleconference earlier this week, Katie Moore, IFAW Marine Mammal Rescue and Research Manager, said the Cape is no stranger to mass strandings, but this is the largest single species event in twelve years.  Each year, according to Moore, an average of 228 animals strand--a number that includes dolphins, whales and seals.  This extended event is not only taxing IFAW's rescue teams of staff and volunteers, it is also burning through Moore's annual operating budget.  Moore addressed Congress last Friday, bringing them up to speed on the current strandings and the need for both scientific and funding support on the federal level.

IFAW's Marine Mammal Rescue and Research has six staff members and relies on 300 trained volunteers who help IFAW monitor the 700 miles of coastline from Cape Cod to Rhode Island. Volunteers are most often the frontline when rescuing stranded animals. Staff members man a 24-hour hotline and deploy volunteers to the scene of a live stranding. While waiting for the rescue team with their trailers and equipment, volunteers provide what Moore calls supportive care, righting the dolphins to help them breathe, covering them with blankets for warmth and keeping away attacking seagulls.

Although not unusual, and if fact expected that dolphins will strand in the winter months on Cape Cod, researchers remain perplexed as to why the numbers are so great this year. Unfortunately there is no definitive answer at this time, according to Moore.

Read more about the recent strandings here:

• Four more dolphins rescued in Wellfleet Sunday night
• More than ten dolphins strand in Wellfleet, seven rescued
• IFAW rescues nine more dolphins after Brewster stranding
• Dolphin stranding mystery continues; member of IFAW team to address Congress later this week
• IFAW reports the death of two more dolphins Monday
  
• Kerry, Keating ask for NOAA's help in finding cause of dolphin strandings
  
• Seven more dolphins strand in Wellfleet Thursday
  
• Six stranded dolphins rescued in Wellfleet