Sick dolphins rescued on Bonita Beach
Published: May 8, 2007
Three Risso’s dolphins are recovering at Mote Marine Laboratory in Sarasota after workers found them stranded near Bonita Springs.
Two mothers and two calves were found Friday night along Bonita Beach. A group of residents and vacationers helped to rescue the dolphins.
“The whole time we were sitting on the beach they were talking back and forth, so we got the babies next to their mothers and waited for help,” said one of the rescuers Jean McNut.
McNut says they even tried to swim away, but just washed back ashore.
“They couldn’t keep themselves upright, they were lying sideways. One of the babies had sand in its lungs and spit it out,” said McNut.
A dozen people took turns holding the dolphins and they were forced to carry their weight on sharp clam beds just to make sure the dolphins were upright and could breathe.
By the time that deputies with the Lee County Sheriff’s Office and officials with the Coast Guard arrived, only four beachgoers remained. They say they spent about 10 hours with the dolphins.
“At 4 a.m. was the first pick up, the mom and two babies. We waited until 5 a.m. for the last pick up. We were with them from 7:30 p.m. until 5 a.m.,” said McNut.
It was Saturday morning when workers transported the sick dolphins to Mote’s Dolphin and Whale Hospital.
One of the calves died, but the other three dolphins are recuperating. They’re getting fluids and antibiotics to deal with their infections.
“At this point, our staff is monitoring all the dolphins around the clock. We’re recording how often they’re breathing. We’re monitoring everything right now,” said Jamie Tracy with Mote Marine.
One pair of dolphins, nicknamed “Betty” and “Big Al,” has been swimming and nursing. The second mother has been nicknamed “Wilma” and is swimming with help from volunteers.
Risso’s dolphins are rarely seen inshore and normally live in deep waters.
If you enjoyed this good news Subscribe to Good News Blog
If you like this, you'll love Good Animal News:
Share this
To share this simply copy and paste one of the below URL's: