Photos: Rescuers Struggling to Save Stranded Dolphins on Cape Cod Beach [PHOTOS]
By Swaty Sharma | Feb 05, 2012 06:32 AM EDT
More than 100 dolphins have been stranded on the shores of Cape Cod, Mass., in the past two weeks and the rescuers are finding it hard to save them.
More than 100 dolphins have died since January.
The dolphins are washing up along the rocky shoreline in groups of as many of 10. It is known that dolphins come near the shores in search of food and get caught in the low tides, which push them to the shores.
"When the water level drops, these animals can come ashore and become stranded," Brian Sharp, a representative of the International Fund for Animal Welfare, was quoted as saying by ABC News.
In a combined effort, the volunteers of the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) have already saved 31 dolphins and fitted satellite tags on them so that they can track their movement.
"Right now we're at around 66 percent. We release them off of beaches where it gets deep quite quickly. From all these signs that we've seen from this event, the satellite tags look very good," Sharp added.
"This has been an exceptional stranding season for us - having already responded to 102 dolphins since January 12th. The first day of February brought even more dolphins to Cape Cod's shores. Yesterday morning we got a call reporting that 6 dolphins were about to strand in the bay in Brewster," explained Katie Moore, manager Marine Mammal Rescue and Research in an article on IFAW Web site.
Moore, who has led the Cape Cod Stranding Network from its inception, says, "This has been the largest stranding of a single species on record in the Northeast Region of the U.S., as such, I'm heading down to Washington D.C. right now to testify before the US House Natural Resources Sub-committee to both brief them on what we know and also to ask for help."
Two stranded common dolphins wait to be transported to a waiting vehicle by a team from the International Fund for Animal Welfare at Herring River in Wellfleet, Mass., Thursday, Jan. 19, 2012.
Source: PA
A dead common dolphin is marked as such at Herring River in Wellfleet, Mass., Thursday, Jan. The dolphins are two in the latest batch found, bringing a total of over 80 stranded dolphins on Cape Cod shores in the last week.
Source: PA
A mother and calf common dolphin are transported to the beach by a team from the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) and the New England Aquarium before being released back into Cape Cod Bay at Scusset Beach, in Sagamore Beach, Mass.
Source: PA
