The Marine Mammal Center Responds to Mass Stranding of Dolphins (California, USA)

CA Dept. of Fish and Wildlife biologist, Mike Harris, keeps an eye on an adult dolphin, part of a pod that swam into a harbor in Morro Bay. © Lisa Harper Henderson

In a first in its 38 years of rescue operations, The Marine Mammal Center responded to a pod of seven dolphins that became stuck in the mud near Morro Bay.

October 15^th, 2013. On September 30, 2013, a team of 12 volunteers and staff from The Marine Mammal Center’s rescue operations headquartered in San Luis Obispo, as well as wildlife officials from CA dept. of Fish and Wildlife and Channel Islands Marine & Wildlife Institute, came to the rescue of seven dolphins (five adults and two calves) that became stuck in the mud in the back bay in Los Osos, Morro Bay, CA.

During the two-day operation, the land & kayak-based teams successfully dislodged the dolphins from thick, black mud during a low tide. As the tide began to come in, two rescuers in wet suits, CA Dept. of Fish and Wildlife biologist, Mike Harris, and Marine Mammal Center volunteer, Jeff Sproul, were able to get the animals to a shallow channel by pulling the animals through the mud. There were sand bars blocking the path through the channel necessitating constant lifting and pulling of the large dolphins over the blockages. Kayaks and paddle boards were used to encourage the dolphins to swim out to the bay. Two of the dolphins appeared to be in poor condition. The team employed various techniques to get the marine mammals back out to sea including banging on pipes & kayaks but the dolphins would not swim out. As night fall began, thick fog blanketed the crew and the dolphins in the water making visibility nearly impossible, so the team halted rescue operations for the day.

@Stranded No More

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