Helping rescue stranded dolphins was 'magic', says charity
Environment officers spent around half an hour trying to re-float the two dolphins at Balls Point
Helping save two stranded Risso's dolphins in County Londonderry was ‘magic,’ says a north coast animal charity.
On Monday morning the pair of rare dolphins were discovered by a mother and daughter walking at Balls Point, Lough Foyle.
They reached-out to Dog Leap Animal Charity who then contacted the British Divers Marine Life Rescue (BDMLR) and the Department for Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (DAERA).
Risso's dolphins are rarely encountered in Northern Ireland waters, as their preferred habitats are deeper, offshore waters, says DAERA.
Walkers and members of the organisation helped throw water over the pair in a bid to save their lives for hours before environment officers arrived at the scene.
Mel McKee from the Limavady based organisation said the ‘beautiful’ animals were about a mile out.
She said: “We didn’t think they were real. It sounds strange but you don’t get to be that close to two big, massive dolphins.”
“British Divers Marine Life Rescue gave us a lot of great information on what to do. They told us to go and keep their skin wet and not to cover the blow hole.”
Mel and her team then set off to get buckets to allow them to pour larger quantities of water over the stranded pair.
She has praised the quick thinking and kindess of the mother and daughter who dug small trenches around the dolphins so bigger pools of water could surround them.
She said: “We left to get buckets and water, and the mother and daughter started digging wee trenched because it was maybe a centimetre of water, not even, wee pot holes around them.
"They thought of this idea of digging holes which then filled up with the trickles of water. They were able to scoop and scoop with their bare hands until people arrived to help.
“They were there hours and hours and constantly throwing the water over them for a good while.
“Then a few of the locals came then - the power of the local people! People were walking out to the deeper water to bring in the buckets and you could start to see them come around then.
“Their tails were going, that’s something the girl said to watch because they were powerful. You could see how powerful they were once they started moving, magic! It was a really cool experience. To see them up close was unreal.”
When environment officers arrived, they spent around half an hour trying to re-float two dolphins.
In a statement DAERA said: “Officers assessed the breathing rates and condition of the dolphins to determine which animal was the most suitable candidate for refloating.
“The younger dolphin had a more normal breathing rate and a healthier body weight and so a
“The younger dolphin had a more normal breathing rate and a healthier body weight and so a tarpaulin was used to support it and move it into deeper water first.
“Given how expansive the shallow part of the lough was at this location, officers had to wade out for several hundred metres to access a sufficient depth of water to release the animal safely.
“Initially, the refloated dolphin was largely immobile having lost much of its dexterity due to muscle stiffening when stranded ashore.
“The dolphin was supported in the water for almost 30 minutes and righted several times when it listed onto its side, causing its blowhole to become submerged.
“Eventually it began sweeping its tail and swimming slowly forward, occasionally in circles and needing to be redirected.
“With the assistance of the incoming tide, an attempt was then made to rescue the older, thinner dolphin. This animal was noticeably underweight and heavily scarred after years of interacting with other dolphins and feeding on squid, according to DAERA.”
However, the younger dolphin quickly joined the first animal.
Both were then monitored as they swam together nearly a kilometre offshore toward deeper water.
The Agri Department has said it and the BDMLR will monitor the area for any further re-stranding of the dolphins.
DAERA has thanks the members of the public who reported the sightings and the stayed with them.
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