IFAW responded to the largest mass dolphin stranding in US history. Photo: IFAW.org
After 146 dolphins stranded themselves on Cape Cod, the International Fund for Animal Welfare declared that it was the largest mass dolphin stranding in United States history.
“The mass stranding of dolphins that began on Cape Cod on 28 June and continued for several days has now been officially declared the largest mass dolphin stranding in US history,” the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) wrote on July 15. “In total, 146 dolphins were involved, and we believe that 102 survived. Of the remaining, 37 dolphins died from natural causes and seven were humanely euthanized.”
IFAW responded to a report of 10 Atlantic white-sided dolphins on June 28. The caller said the dolphins were wallowing in a mudflat in Wellfleet, Massachusetts, but when IFAW workers arrived on site, they quickly realized they were dealing with a lot more than 10 animals.
“We arrived to what appeared to be 80 to 100 dolphins on the shallow mud flats of Wellfleet’s Herring River ‘Gut’ – a global epicenter for mass strandings,” said stranding coordinator Misty Niemeyer in a statement. After a quick count, the number rose from 10 to 125.
“This rescue had many challenges due to the number of dolphins, the large size of many of the animals, how spread out they were over a large area, the difficult mud conditions, and the complicated locations from which we could reach them,” Niemeyer continued.
Over the next 12 hours, over 150 people — 100 of which were volunteers — worked diligently to push as many of the dolphins back into deeper waters. Sadly, though, 10 of them were already dead.
It’s a dangerous area for marine life, since it has large tide swings. According to IFL Science, IFAW sees around 315 strandings in the area every year.
In total, 146 dolphins were involved in the stranding event, but despite the valiant efforts of the rescuers, it was necessary to euthanize some of them.
“The very social nature of these dolphins means they will stick together even in a bad situation,” IFAW’s Deputy Vice President of Rescue Katie Moore explained. “By removing individuals that are not well, the group may be more easily moved offshore.”
