Rescuers rush to help dolphin found stranded on Outer Banks beach, NC officials say
Rescuers tried to save a dolphin stranded on an Outer Banks beach on Saturday, but the animal didn’t survive, North Carolina officials say.
A Cape Hatteras National Seashore visitor found the beached Risso’s dolphin at about 2:30 p.m. at Cape Point and called to report it, according to the National Park Service.
Rescuers from Cape Hatteras National Seashore and Hatteras Island Wildlife Rehabilitation responded to the beach, the Park Service said, and people fishing helped them pull the dolphin up the beach so they could asses it.
But the dolphin wasn’t able to be saved, the Park Service says.
It had to be euthanized and a necropsy, which is an autopsy for animals, will determine how it died, Hatteras Island Wildlife Rehabilitation wrote on Facebook.
The dolphin had no obvious signs of trauma, HIWR wrote, but it was “a little thin,” which could mean it was sick.
Sickness is among the many reasons marine mammals will strand on beaches.
The reasons include an injury caused by running into ships or boats, getting tangled in fishing gear, infections or diseases, having a parasite, starvation and unusual weather events, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
Sometimes animals will strand for multiple reasons, NOAA says, but it’s often impossible to determine the cause.
A dolphin is considered stranded when it is found dead on the beach, or floating in the water or alive on the beach but unable to get back in the water, NOAA says.
Thousands of stranded animals are reported every year, NOAA says.
Mike Remige, with the state Department of Natural and Cultural Resources, told McClatchy News last year that winter is “prime stranding season” in the Outer Banks.
In January 2019, three bottlenose dolphins were found stranded on Outer Banks beaches, according to data from the Marine Mammal Stranding Network of the North Carolina Central Coast. In February 2019, four bottlenose dolphins and one common dolphin were found stranded, the data shows.
If you find a stranded mammal on the beach, NOAA says to call the local stranding network or use the Dolphin and Whale 911 app.
The Outer Banks Marine Mammal Stranding Network hotline is 252-241-5119, according to its site. Those reporting a stranding should be ready to provide the number of animals stranded, their condition, a detailed location, a description of the animal and possibly photos, and the animal’s size and color.
It’s important not to try to push the animal back into the water, the network says.
It’s also important to keep a distance from the animals and keep pets and other people away from it as they can often have “unpredictable behavior,” NOAA says.
CORRECTION: An earlier version of this story incorrectly stated that the animal should be pushed back into the water. People should not attempt to do that, experts say.
This story was originally published January 5, 2020 at 1:21 PM with the headline "Rescuers rush to help dolphin found stranded on Outer Banks beach, NC officials say."
