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Crews worked for a second straight day to rescue nearly 50 bottlenose dolphins stranded in the largest known stranding of the marine mammal in Massachusetts history, according to the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW).
The organization said reports began circulating around 5:30 a.m. Monday that 28 to 30 bottlenose dolphins were stranded at First Encounter Beach in Eastham, Massachusetts.
“The dolphins refloated with the incoming tide, while an additional five to six animals died before our team arrived,” the group said in a statement Monday.
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The International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) was rescuing nearly 50 bottleneck dolphins off the Massachusetts coast over the past two days, the group said Tuesday. (International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW),)
On Tuesday, IFAW reported that four bottlenose dolphins were initially found stranded. That number quickly multiplied to 19 across three locations along a nine-mile stretch of coastline.
“These animals are in decent condition. Two have been fitted with satellite tags so we can now monitor their movements and even see if the separated groups come back together,” said Brian Sharp, program director for Marine Mammal Rescue at IFAW.
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A stranded dolphin seen from a distance and another seen swimming in the waters off Massachusetts. (International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW),)
“We are in a rising tide now, and all 19 animals have refloated,” Sharp added. “We’ll continue to monitor and coax them out of Wellfleet Bay to give them the best chance at survival. The next low tide will be around 6 p.m. this evening.”
Bottlenose dolphins are typically an offshore species, the group said, though IFAW has observed an increasing trend of these animals occurring closer to Cape Cod’s shores in recent years.
A woman seen looking over the waters where rescuers were working to free stranded dolphins. (International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW),)
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Similar to a person involved in a car accident, dolphins can become injured and exhausted during a stranding and should never be pushed or dragged back into the water, IFAW warned.