On 17 January, British Divers Marine Life Rescue (BDMLR) tasked Marine Mammal Medics to a stranding incident in Kent following reports of a small dolphin being refloated by members of the public.
On arrival, Medics found a distressed cetacean struggling in shallow water, which promptly re-stranded on the shingle. The team stabilised the animal and carried out a welfare assessment, identifying it as an underweight, small female harbour porpoise with multiple injuries and lesions, including an abnormal mass on both sides of the tailstock. The porpoise sadly died shortly after.
HM Coastguard officers also attended and provided valuable assistance while the welfare response was carried out. Coastguard took measurements as Receiver of Wreck, and the porpoise was subsequently uplifted from the beach to be passed to the Cetacean Strandings Investigation Programme (CSIP) for post-mortem examination.
Prior to BDMLR Medics arriving, the porpoise was reportedly returned to the water multiple times by well-meaning members of the public. While this response is understandable, attempting to refloat stranded dolphins, porpoises and whales can put both the animal and the public at serious risk.
Cetaceans often strand due to serious illness, injury, exhaustion, stress, navigational error or other underlying health issues. Understanding these reasons for each individual we attend is key to how we can respond and make decisions in the most appropriate way for the welfare of the animal and its prognosis. Refloating them without assessment or stabilisation may unintentionally lead to further suffering or even drowning, further injury, as well as delayed welfare intervention by our team.
The ideal action in these situations is to report the incident to us immediately so we can provide the most appropriate advice for the circumstances directly, and to mobilise our trained Medics, vets and response equipment to assess and give first aid to the animal much sooner. Advice will be given via our Hotline on how to provide images and location details to us. Our BDMLR 24/7 line: 01825 765546
BDMLR would like to thank the members of the public who promptly reported the incident and those who kept their distance on scene, our attending Medics and to HM Coastguard Folkestone for their support.
Photographs by Anita Adams