The cast away baby dolphin found near Elkhorn Slough, was euthanized.
Dolphins are considered to be the gentlest sea creatures. Pointy nosed and with a silvery gray skin, these clowns of the see are capable of putting a smile on everyone’s face. So, it’s only natural to feel sad when one of them comes down with an illness or dies. Unfortunately, one of these gentle creatures lost everything and had to be put down. Cast away dolphin calf was euthanized after being abandoned by its mother.
On Friday, at approximately 8:30 a.m., a couple of wild life enthusiasts spotted something amiss on a beach, while the look-out for sea otters. Upon looking more closely, the team that was tasked with monitoring the population of sea water, spotted a dolphin on the beach, which seemed somewhat distressed. Unfortunately, they couldn’t get any near the dolphin, due to the fact that the beach was filled with mud. Thus, they called the local wildlife authorities in order to assess the dolphin’s health condition.
The rescue team from the Marine Mammal Center was dispatched to Elkhorn Slough, an area situated in Prunedale, in order to help the beach dolphin. When they have arrived on the beach, the dolphin was struggling between life and death. Moreover, it would seem that the creature was actually very young, too young to venture so far from its mother.
As the dolphin was too young to care for itself, the rescue team decided to transport him to the nearest enclosure and to continue monitoring its condition. Meanwhile, a boat from the U.S. Coast Guard was dispatched out into the open water, in order to search for the calf’s mother. Hours upon hours elapsed and the crew didn’t catch a glimpse of the dolphin’s lost mother. Hence, they had to recall the operation in order to think about alternatives.
The wildlife keepers continued to monitor the dolphin’s condition in the enclosure. Sadly, without finding his mother, the dolphin’s chances of survival bordered on the impossible. And so the keepers decided not to torment the mammal further. The last resort was to euthanize the poor creature, because it could not survive on its own in the open waters.
Thus, the dolphin calf was put to sleep. But the wildlife investigators are still left with a couple of puzzles to solve. First of all, what dragged the dolphin calf to venture so far from his mother and approach the shoreline? And where can this elusive mother be? Has she really abandoned her child or was she the victim of wandering predators?
Image source:www.wikimedia.org
