A dolphin found itself in an awkward position on November 21 near Gros-Cap, in the Magdalen Islands. Out for a stroll, a man and his children discover a cetacean floundering in shallow water about 5 metres from the beach. He contacts and later sends photos and videos to the Quebec Marine Mammal Emergency Response Network. Thanks to these images, the specialist at the call centre is able to confirm that the animal is a dolphin, though the exact species cannot be determined. The dolphin manages to move a little, but occasionally tips onto its side, confirming it is in very shallow water.<\/p>\n
Quickly, wildlife veterinarian St\u00e9phane Lair is consulted. The animal does not appear to be in too bad of shape. However, he recommends preparing equipment for a potential release in the event it becomes completely stranded. Since dolphins are sensitive to stress, he rules out any operation in which the animal would be removed from the water and trucked to a different location. Fishery officers trained for releases are notified so that they are ready to mobilize if necessary.<\/p>\n
The witnesses, who have been asked to leave the area, call the Network back to report that the dolphin has headed out to sea and that it is now about 30 metres from the beach. A volunteer is sent out to the site to continue monitoring the animal. However, upon her arrival, the volunteer is unable to locate the dolphin. The following day, other volunteers patrol the coast, but do not see the animal. On Monday, fishery officers return to the area and do not spot the dolphin either.<\/p>\n
What happened? What brought the animal so close to shore and what drove it away? The dolphin may have been trying to flee from a threat such as a predator. It is also possible that the animal was ill or disoriented. Did it regain its strength and set off on its own? Was it captured by a predator? Did it die? As is often the case, the Quebec Marine Mammal Emergency Response Network team does not know exactly how this story ends. However, documentation of this incident adds to our knowledge of strandings, which remain a rare phenomenon in Quebec.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
A dolphin found itself in an awkward position on November 21 near Gros-Cap, in the Magdalen Islands. Out for a stroll, a man and his children discover a cetacean floundering in shallow water about 5 metres from the beach. He contacts and later sends photos and videos to the Quebec Marine Mammal Emergency Response Network. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":52743,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[409],"tags":[563,417],"class_list":["post-52762","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-marine-mammal-emergencies","tag-dolphin","tag-marine-mammal-emergencies"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n