Community Corner

600 Lb. Dolphin Rescued Last Week Still in 'Guarded' Condition

The dolphin eats 60 lbs. of squid a day.

A 600-pound dolphin rescued last week by the Riverhead Foundation for Marine Research and Preservation is still in "very guarded condition," according to Foundation members.

The dolphin is eating well, a good sign, but is also being treated for gastric ulcers.

The dolphin, an adult female, weighs 603 lbs. and is a little over nine feet long. She is currently eating 60 lbs. of squid per day and will eventually eat around 80 lbs of squid daily; the cost of squid just for one day is around $200, Julika Wocial, Rescue Program Supervisor, said Thursday.

The female Risso's dolphin was rescued from a sand bar in the Great South Bay last Thursday, June 6. 

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The Riverhead Foundation for Marine Research and Preservation was alerted by the United States Coast Guard at Fire Island that a large dolphin was struggling on a sandbar just south of Oak Beach on Jones Beach Island in Babylon.

Rushing to the scene, Foundation members were transported to the site by United States Coast Guard Fire Island, where they were able to remove the dolphin from the sandbar and bring her on a stretcher to a nearby beach.

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Next, the dolphin was brought by rescue vehicle to the Long Island Aquarium in Riverhead, where she is being cared for at the Foundation's marine mammal and sea turtle hospital.

“We are extremely grateful for the support shown and share the success of this rescue with the USCG Fire Island personnel as well as the community members of Oak Beach which assisted our efforts to render aid to this stricken animal," Kimberly Durham, Rescue Program Director, said.

The dolphin is being closely monitored and treated for dehydration and well as gastric bleeding.  

This dolphin is the second Risso’s recovered by the Riverhead Foundation’s rescue program in recent weeks.  he previous Risso’s, an adult female, was initially reported alive but later found dead approximately 26 miles north of Manhattan.

A forensic examination revealed four intact plastic bags blocking her stomach, which led to her dying of starvation.

Risso’s dolphins are  frequently found offshore along the steep shelf-edge habitats, between 400-1000 miles deep. They are characterized by a bulbous head and coloration which, although dark gray to brown when young, changes dramatically with age. As they mature they lighten and the majority of their skin is marked with linear white scars.  Risso’s dolphin eat mostly squid.  


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