Community Corner

Riverhead Foundation: Washed Up Dolphin Had Pneumonia

The foundation is still awaiting more results.

A dolphin that washed up in Hampton Bays on Thursday died of pneumonia.

According to the Riverhead Foundation, while initial findings from the necropsy on the female common dolphin indicate pneumonia killed it, the foundation is awaiting results of a test that will determine if the dolphin also had the morbillivirus.
That test, Kim Durham, of the foundation, said will take 3 to 4 weeks. 

According to reports, the morbillivirus is responsible for killing over 300, mostly bottlenose dolphins, along the East Coast this year. 

The common dolphin was found in Hampton Bays by three children, Garrett, Aly, Colby and Madelyn Francolini on Tuesday morning at the end of Nautilius Drive. It was still alive, but took its last breath a few minutes after hitting the sand. 

The juvenile, female dolphin had been spotted a day earlier in the ocean between the inlet and Ponquogue Beach with reports being made to the Riverhead Foundation that beachgoers were attempting to swim with it.

Durham advises all residents to steer clear of dolphins swimming close to shore as they could carry secondary diseases that could be a hazard to people. Anyone who spots a dolphin in distress should call the foundation's hotline at 31-369-9829. 


Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here