A pod of white-beaked dolphins has been stranded by sea ice in a narrow bit of water off Newfoundland, Canada. Dildo Cove, where the dolphins are stuck, is across from Spread Eagle Bay and ‘t’aint too far from Pee Pee Island. Yes, those are real places.
According to reports, at least 10 dolphins were trapped by sea ice in an area about the size of a backyard swimming pool. Fisheries workers along with local volunteers were working to relocate the animals to nearby Placentia Cove (again, not a joke).
The rescue has been a difficult one. “Just trying to get them out of the water is a huge effort,” Wayne Ledwell, a marine biologist and head of the Whale Release and Strandings Group, told the CBC. “First you’ve got to catch them, then you’ve got a three- to five-hundred pound animal, and they don’t got much to hold onto.”
Dildo volunteers have been bringing ATVs and snowmobiles to the area as a means of transport. The CBC reported that the Dildo dolphins were likely one pod out of several that were stranded in nearby Trinity Bay in the last few weeks.
“Seems to be probably one big group of them that got split up,” Ledwell continued. “They’re just trying to evade the ice.”
Sea ice can pose a serious threat to dolphins, as they can get lost in it and don’t swim under it since they need to surface for air. They can be crushed or trapped by the ice. Volunteers have set up a temporary ice blockade using ropes and weights in hopes that the ice will move away from the area and allow the dolphins to escape back into the open ocean.
Rescuers are doing all they can to keep the sea ice out of the the cove. Image: Facebook//Paul Seymour
