Pilot
Whale stranding, Silecroft, Cumbria
28th June 2008
[click
on images to enlarge]
I
received a call from RSPCA Chief Inspector, Rob Melloy, to advise
that a whale had stranded at Silecroft near Millom. [Image
copyright John Whitford HMCG]
Back home Rob Watkins loaded the
Landrover with Medic kit and Pontoons, whilst I made the phone calls
in a now well-rehearsed exercise. With maps and dry suits in the
car we headed South and were met on the way by Catherine Goulding,
North West BDMLR Assistant Coordinator up for a diving weekend and
Al Hillery, West Cumbria BSAC diver. We arrived at Silecroft followed
by the RSPCA Team and met up with the Haverigg Coastguard. They
took Catherine and me to the whale that was located almost a mile
north of Silecroft with the only access along the beach using a
4x4.
.jpg)
The
pilot whale was lying on its right side and had been found by a
member of the public, Ann, who had called the Emergency services
and had cared for it until others arrived on the scene including
local community support officer and other Coastguards. We needed
to get the whale upright and as it was lying on sloping sand and
shingle this proved to be a difficult task. The whale, named Tom,
was breathing normally but had probably been lying on the beach
since 8am. The whale was 15 feet in length and our option to refloat
would only be possible at the next high tide at about 6pm. [Image
copyright John Whitford HMCG]
Equipment and personnel were ferried
up and down the beach by BDMLR medic Glenn Budden using his Landrover
Defender with all the kit. This was a challenge in itself with shifting
pebbles on the beach and soft sand into which vehicles could rapidly
sink.
.JPG)
A
relay of rescuers from BDMLR, RSPCA, Police, Coastguard and members
of the public helped to keep the whale upright and thin blankets
covering the whale kept wet and cool. Saline was dropped into the
eyes, KY jelly used to protect the blowhole and water carried up
the beach. The whale was sick several times and this was carefully
washed away. The whale’s condition was giving cause for concern.
[Image copyright Glenn Budden BDMLR]
I spoke to James Barnett, BDMLR
Veterinary Consultant and photos were sent to him. My mobile had
no signal and this was finally achieved with the help of Lisa and
her mobile that did have a signal intermittently in some areas of
the beach. The vet arrived on scene and assessed the condition of
the whale and was able to discuss options with James Barnett using
Lisa’s mobile when the signal was available.
.JPG)
Our
concern for the condition of the whale eventually led to the very
difficult decision of euthanasia that was taken due to the size
of the whale, muscle wastage and the length of time that he had
been stranded.
I
would like to thank all concerned for an excellent team effort to
care for the whale over a long period of time. Everyone in attendance
had a valuable role and carried it out fully. Although the ending
was not as we would have wished, to allow the whale to continue
suffering would have been unacceptable. [Image
copyright Glenn Budden BDMLR]
Jenny
Watkins
BDMLR Cumbria Coordinator
Further images available
to view in Image Library - HERE
Risso's
dolphin previously in Clyde - Sighted again
27th June
BDMLR has seen images
taken at 15.30hrs on the 26th June at Campbeltown Loch, Argyll &
Bute.
The images show the
same animal previously sighted in the River Clyde earlier this week.
BDMLR will be taking no action while the animal is free swimming
in deep water and asks the public to continue to report sightings
of the dolphin to HQ on 01825 765546.
The dolphin is in
poor body condition and separated from a social group. These issues
cause BDMLR to be concerned for the future of the dolphin.
Tony
Woodley - National Press Officer
Search for dolphin in River
Clyde scaled down
25th June
Dolphin not seen since 11.30pm on
23/6. If sighted, please call 01825 765546
Press Statement - HERE
(pdf) updated 25/06 12.35hrs
Marine
Awareness event at Flamborough Head
21st June
On
Saturday 21st June Yorkshire Marine Mammal Medics attended a Marine
Awareness event at Flamborough Head South Landing. The local Medics
were on hand throughout the day to provide specialist information
and advice and to demonstrate training activities used in cetacean
and seal recues.
The
purpose of the fun filled family event was to raise local awareness
for the marine environment and to promote the production of a voluntary
code of conduct for Flamborough Head Special Area of Conservation.
The code has been produced by the local Sea Fisheries Committee
in order to make people aware of Yorkshire‘s wonderful marine
wildlife and how to behave appropriately in order to protect and
conserve the region for future generations.
The
weekend also allowed celebration of the newly designated experimental
No Take Zone located off Flamborough Head SAC. No Take Zones (NTZs)
are a form of Marine Protected Area (MPA) that provide the highest
level of protection for both commercial and non-commercially valuable
marine animals. The government are committed to introducing additional
Marine Protected Areas through the long awaited Marine Bill by 2012.
Case studies, such as that at Lundy Island have shown they benefit
marine wildlife and in some circumstances can benefit fish and shellfish
of commercial and recreational value.
Lets
hope this is one step further to establishing a healthy and productive
marine environment for all to enjoy!
Kirsten
Smith - BDMLR Marine Mammal Medic
Communications Officer
Yorkshire Wildlife Trust
Dolphin
Mass Stranding – Falmouth Bay - 9th June 2008
Images by and copyright of Tim Bain
& Rory Goodall - click to enlarge
At
approximately 08.20 hrs medic Lesley Jarvis received a telephone
call from the Cornwall Wildlife Trust Marine Strandings Network
to advise that a report had been received from the Maritime &
Coastguard Agency Headquarters, Falmouth to advise that they had
received a report of something ‘thrashing around’ in
the Percuil River & that they had mobilised a team to investigate
& would report back as soon as information was received. Lesley
immediately passed the message on to husband & Cornwall Area
Co-ordinator Dave Jarvis, who alerted the other Area Co-ordinator
Tim Bain to the situation to ask him to endeavour to make his way
to the scene while Dave commenced loading equipment into his car.
Nothing was heard for 15 – 20 minutes so Dave made direct
contact with the MCA & was stunned to be advised that there
were several animals in the river ’11 dead 3 alive’.
They also advised that boats were already making their way there.
Because of the time of day, Dave had already elected to leave a
message on the Head Office answerphone to provide continuity in
controlling the incident, but on receiving the update immediately
re-contacted Uckfield & spoke with Charity Chairman, Alan Knight
to appraise him of the situation. He then also rang Senior Veterinary
Consultant James Barnett, Assistant Area Co-ordinators Darryl Thorpe,
Jenny Haley & Michelle Robinson, together with experienced medics
Caroline Curtis, Gary Hawkins, Phil Jarvis, as well as advising
the RSPCA and the National Seal Sanctuary, who sent Animal Care
Supervisor Tamara Cooper and Marketing Assistant Rachael Vine. In
addition to this he also gave feedback to the CWT MSN Co-ordinator
Maddie Precious, in order that she could organise a team to deal
with what was apparently going to be some form of major incident.
Tim Bain then rang Dave to advise that he would soon be en-route
to the incident, together with a call from Sue White at Head Office
to say that both Sue & National Co-ordinator Trevor Weeks would
now be taking over the mobilisation of medics using the new mass
SMS text message system.
Just
after 10.00, having collected the Cornwall Rescue Trailer Dave &
Lesley battled through the last of the morning rush hour traffic
to a place called Froe, on the Roseland Peninsula, which the MCA
had advised as the access location for the incident. The car park
of a private house had been commandeered by the MCA as a rendezvous
point & having parked they rushed down to the banks of the creek
to make contact with Station Officer Allan Collins of Porthscatho
MCA Team & St Mawes Asst Harbourmaster Peter Buckle.
They
were confronted by a scene of carnage, with numerous dead dolphins
floating in the water all around the creek. S.O. Collins immediately
pointed out locations further up the river where animals were apparently
still alive & people tending to them. By radio, he then contacted
the ILB, which was in attendance & being driven by Coxwain Dave
Nichol of RNLI Falmouth to advise of BDMLR’s arrival. The
boat was brought back to the quayside for Dave & Lesley to get
aboard & have a briefing of the situation. Several animals had
already been successfully re-floated by the RNLI personnel &
members of the public, but 4 animals still remained in 3 locations
along both banks in very shallow water, on a now falling tide. It
was observed that several animals were also free swimming in the
main body of water. Whilst making their way down to these animals
a message was received that other medics had now arrived, so Dave
requested that a further boat be sent to collect them & immediately
bring them out to the strandings. Each of the locations was then
visited by Dave & Lesley in turn, at which the following were
found;
1.
Left bank – 1 animal being attended by 1 member of RNLI team.
Animal apparently showing signs wanting to join the main group.
2. Left bank – 1 animal being attended by 1 member of the
public. Animal listing heavily to one side & due to depth of
water blowhole becoming immersed below water from time to time.
Animal also had various superficial injuries. A boat with BDMLR
personnel arrived with Asst Area Coordinator Jenny Haley plus one
medic, who disembarked to provide assistance in moving the animal
above water level & to stabilise it.
3. Right bank – 2 animals being attended by 1 member of RNLI
team. As Dave & Lesley approached, it was noted that the member
of the RNLI team from location 1. had now joined his colleague,
since his animal had now swum off. Both animals were still partially
in the water, but showing little interest in leaving the location.
3 medics were now tasked to join in with these animals to stabilise
them.
Dave
was then returned to the quayside to establish a control point &
set up liaison with the other agencies, whilst Lesley stayed on
board the RNLI boat, which was providing a co-ordination point on
the water. Just as they got to shore Asst Area Co-ordinator Darryl
Thorpe, who is also a Veterinary Surgeon, arrived so Dave requested
him to immediately proceed to the single animal left on the left
hand bank to begin assessment, but also ensuring that he took any
necessary equipment to cover for the various possible outcomes.
Shortly afterwards Veterinary Surgeon Sean Langton also arrived
at the scene so he was requested to proceed to the pair of animals
on the right hand side of the river. Area Co-ordinator Tim Bain
was also there at about the same time & he immediately went
down the creek to oversee the rescue operation. As various other
medics arrived they were assigned tasks to help move rescue pontoons
and associated equipment to both incidents. The MCA again were of
great value by assisting with communications & health &
safety.
Due
to the isolated location, communications were irregular & by
this time the media had become aware so numerous calls were being
received by Dave Jarvis requesting information, as well as from
incoming medics, thus making it impossible to use the satellite
phone, but even so a steady stream of communications was maintained
between the scene & Head Office. Soon afterwards reports began
to be received that another group of about 25 animals had been seen
at a fourth location a short distance away very close to shore at
Place, near St Anthony’s Point. Six medics were despatched
to the location with instructions to report back to Dave on the
situation, but shortly afterwards Devon Asst Area Co-ordinator Dave
McDonald arrived & he was therefore asked to oversee this sector
of the incident & to which he immediately responded, together
with the Devon rescue trailer.
The
incident in the Percuil River appeared to be progressing satisfactorily,
although unfortunately a decision was made to euthanase one of the
animals at Location 3. Both of the remaining animals, on opposite
sides of the water, had been stabilised & placed into pontoons,
with the intention of moving them out in deeper & more open
water. Although a problem occurred when a helicopter arrived which
not only disrupted all forms of verbal communication, but also frightened
the animals in the pontoons & caused the free swimming animals
to turn back into danger.
By early afternoon a fifth location involving approximately 10 animals
in potential difficulties was identified as Custom House Quay, Falmouth
& although not in any immediate danger of stranding in this
location, medics were initially sent, followed soon afterwards by
Devon Area Co-ordinator Sue Davie, who was placed in charge of this
location. An attempt was made to herd the animals out with boats,
being overseen by medics Gary Hawkins & Lesley Jarvis, but after
a few tries it became reasonably apparent that there would be little
chance of success as the animals tended to split into smaller groups
& evade the boats. [Image by/copyright
Simon Bone. Dolphins in Falmouth Harbour]
At
Froe, volunteers from the CWT MSN organised the removal of the numerous
bodies that were now either still in the receding water or left
up on the river banks, assisted by the MCA personnel, various workmen
& members of the public. Asst Area Co-ordinator Michelle Robinson
& Devon Area Co-ordinator Dr Lissa Goodwin were in attendance
as this macabre operation was in progress.
At
around the same time news was received that not only had the two
animals in the pontoons been successfully released, but that the
free swimming animals in the same location, together with a further
25 animals that had been attempting to strand at Place, had followed
the boats to a safer location off shore. Dave McDonald confirmed
that the dolphins had moved away from his location, so Dave Jarvis
requested that he ask some medics to remain there to ensure that
creatures did not return & that Dave join Sue Davie in Falmouth
to assist in monitoring that situation. [Image
by/copyright Caroline Curtis]
As
the medics that had been involved in the various boat operations
in the rescue of the two animals & the herding attempt in Falmouth
Harbour were dropped off at the mouth of the Percuil & walking
back to Froe, carrying the all rescue equipment, due to it being
low water, Area Co-ordinator Dave Jarvis began to receive messages
of a sixth incident at Gillan in the Helford Estuary, involving
6 dolphins & a seventh location near Trelissick Gardens, just
south of Truro, which apparently involved a single animal. One team,
under the leadership of Jenny Haley immediately set out for Gillan,
with further assistance requested from other medics & more members
of the Animal Care Team at the National Seal Sanctuary, including
Dan Jarvis, who was asked to locate sufficient tarpaulins in case
they were required. A second team headed up by Lissa Goodwin, Michelle
Robinson & Darryl Thorpe went to Trelissick Gardens.
This
animal was located and Sean Langton was already in attendance, and
as a 2 vets were now on the scene, James Barnett advised that he
would proceed to the Gillan incident. Tim Bain & Lesley Jarvis
collected together the rest of the BDMLR equipment left at Froe,
whilst Dave dealt with the continuing deluge of press interest.
As they left the location Paul Jepson & Rob Deaville from the
IoZ arrived to commence their post mortem examinations on the bodies
that remained on the bank, others having already been transported
to the VLA at Polwhele. Dave decided to make for Gillan, as this
was potentially the more serious incident, but shortly afterwards
Jenny Haley was in contact, firstly to ask for better information
on the exact location & then to advise that the animals had
apparently been in shallow water & had been assisted out by
members of the public. Therefore they now made for the rendezvous
point at Trelissick Gardens & upon arrival immediately met up
with James Barnett, who had also diverted there once it had been
ascertained that there was no longer a problem at Gillan. Unfortunately,
news was then received that the animal at this location had had
to be euthanased & that it’s body was being transported
along the river to the access point at the King Harry Ferry. James
asked us if it would be possible to take the body to VLA Polwhele
for post mortem, so the equipment in the rescue ambulance was re-arranged
to accommodate it & the journey arranged.
It
was now early evening & animals were still present in the Falmouth
Harbour area, which continued to be under the supervision of Sue
Davie & Dave McDonald. As medics were still available following
the Gillan incident, some of them made their way to this location
& a second attempt was made to herd the animals out into a less
exposed location close to the main estuary channel by using a number
of carefully coordinated smaller watercraft and kayakers, with some
success. A call was also received by Dave Jarvis from ‘on
call’ Co-ordinator Lesley Salisbury to advise that a report
had been received of a group of animals of Port Pendennis, so Dave
McDonald was once again set on the mission to investigate this,
but this thankfully proved to be the same pod that were in the Harbour
area.
Following
delivery of the body of the dolphin to Polwhele, the rescue trailer
was returned to Dave Jarvis’ home where, once the other pieces
of equipment that had been moving around the County in various vehicles,
had all been collected together & brought back by Dan Jarvis,
the ambulance was prepared for the following day & operations
were suspended at 23.00 hrs
As the press had requested early morning interviews back at Froe,
Dave & Lesley Jarvis made their way back there at 06.30 hrs
the following morning. En-route, messages were received that the
medics that had been tasked with checking the locations could find
no trace of the animals in Falmouth Harbour, although BBC Radio
Cornwall did advise that a listener had reported a solitary animal
free swimming in the Helford. As the day progressed, reports were
received of a couple of sightings near Trelissick Gardens of groups
of free swimming animals, but no strandings. Nothing further was
reported until a dead animal was called in, floating off the Helford
River mouth during the afternoon of the 11th.
The press have reported that 26
animals died, but of these only 2 were ‘lost’ during
the rescue effort & over 40 animals were either rescued, assisted
to safety, or monitored, not only by BDMLR, but also by various
other agencies & members of the public. Thanks should be extended
to the other agencies involved;
RNLI Falmouth,
MCA Portscatho
MCA HQ Falmouth
Cornwall County Fire Service
Harbourmasters at St Mawes, Truro and Falmouth
Conrad Birnie and Seth Neill
Cornwall Wildlife Trust Marine Strandings Network
National Seal Sanctuary
RSPCA
King Harry Ferry
National Trust
Mary Pollard and friends
All the boat owners who provided transport for personnel and equipment
around the rivers and helped with herding animals to safe locations
away from the shore.
Kayakers at various locations who assisted with herding efforts.
Members of the public who assisted with stranded animals and herding.
Finally, not forgetting all of the Marine Mammal Medics who came
from far and wide to help the animals.
This was an extremely difficult
incident, not only because of the numerous locations and animals,
but also the hot weather that the teams of medics were working in,
at times with little opportunity for refreshment & every single
member of the team deserves commendation for their efforts, including
staff at Head Office & on call Co-ordinator, & without whom
none of what was achieved would have been possible. It is hoped
that the other ‘team leaders’ will be contributing more
detailed reports on the incidents that they were dealing with in
the near future.
Dave
Jarvis
Director and Cornwall Area Coordinator
British Divers Marine Life Rescue
Mass
stranding of Common Dolphins
Monday
9th June 2008 - Froe Creek nr Portscatho, Cornwall
[Further
images will be added to the this report later, some can be viewed
- HERE]
My day started as usual with walking
the whippet at 7.00 before breakfast. If I’d known how the
day was going to unfold I would have had a huge breakfast. I was
rinsing my drysuit after the rescue demo we’d done on Looe
beach for World Oceans Day on Sunday, (where I was greatly helped
by the Jarvis family & Medics Peter Carthew & Michele Wright
from Looe) when at 9.30 I got the call from Dave Jarvis. A mass
stranding of dolphins on the Roseland peninsula- but this doesn’t
happen in UK with dolphins! While I packed my gear into the car,
my partner Joan made butties (I’m a Northerner- we don’t
eat “sarnies”) & I was on the road by 9.45 having
had a quick look at the map as I was unfamiliar with the area.
I knew I was in the right place
when I saw Dave’s car, the ambulance trailer and the Land
Rover from the National Seal Sanctuary at Gweek. Dave took me through
a garden to a stone jetty at the head of the creek where I was met
by the chilling sight of many dead dolphins floating in the weed
at the side of the river with others on each bank. I could see a
team on each side working on live strandings. I was taken in a small
RIB with Caroline and Gary Curtis to the two dolphins on the east
bank and as soon as I identified myself the Medics gave me an update
on the animals breathing rate, any injuries etc- they were really
following their training to the letter.
I
had a look under their sheets to confirm that both dolphins were
in good body condition; one had a respiratory Rate (RR) of 9bpm*
but the other was up at 30. We then went across to the single dolphin
on the west (sunny) bank. This was being sheltered from the sun
by a tarp being held by Seth and another volunteer- sorry I never
got your name. Jenny Haley Vet Nurse and North Cornwall Assistant
Co-ordinator, was comforting the dolphin by talking to it and resting
its head on her leg- which she did for at least two hours to my
knowledge. Other Medics were 
cooling
it with weed and buckets of water. When I arrived it was breathing
at about 10bpm but increased as I arrived! Animals always seem to
sense a vet! So I stayed behind its field of view and just observed
everyone carrying on doing a brilliant job.
[Image
: Darryl Thorpe and Jenny Haley with Common dolphin before its release.
Image copyright Caroline Curtis/BDMLR. Click on image to enlarge]
We
all had a democratic chat and decided we needed to get all three
dolphins in the water to calm them and assess their stability etc
before we lost the water- we were about 1.5 hours past High Water.
Meanwhile Sean Langton, vet from St Columb Major, was re-assessing
the two across the river and after phoning to James Barnett (BDMLR’s
Chief Veterinary Consultant) it was decided to euthanase the one
with distressed breathing. We called Dave for the dolphin pontoon
and by about midday had her supported and gently rocking in knee
deep water. At this stage her breathing settled at 9-14bpm.
During all this, about 20 meters
upstream was a pod of seven dolphins circling, which Caroline thought
were juveniles because of their size. So it was decided to move
the two live ones downstream while using various RIBs (mostly Coastguard
& RNLI) and boats to persuade the pod to follow us down. Caroline
suggested we try to keep our dolphin pointed to the pod as much
as possible so they all knew each other were there. Our RIB driver
(I think Mark from the Kayak firm) was brilliant at following Caroline’s
directions and we were able to keep our dolphin pointed at the pod
and they began circling our RIB & coming close to check her
out. She was also vocalising and clicking to the pod while we circled
as the other team got their dolphin into the Whale pontoon in an
airbed. Then we set off slowly downstream with the other RIB &
dolphin with the rest of the RIBs and boats gently “herding”
the small pod behind us. Caroline Jenny and I had to lean over the
pontoon to ensure the dolphin stayed upright and able to breathe.
We had a few worrying minutes when a (media?) helicopter began hovering
around and I have no doubt this did worry and disorientate the swimming
pod, as they tried to turn back upriver and it also distressed our
dolphin in the pontoon. I seem to remember this was also a problem
during the rescue of the Thames Whale. They ignored our vigorous
signals but a message from the RNLI RIB finally got their attention
and they backed off. Thanks guys!
As we approached the beach near
St Antony, we saw other volunteers on the beach and another pod
of about 30-40 dolphins so we stopped for fear of driving them onto
the beach or upriver. The other boats quietly positioned themselves
to prevent this and to be able to herd this new pod downriver, at
this point our small pod joined them. We continued to point our
dolphin at them and as the boats ( including some “kidnapped”
kayakers) herded them, they gradually came closer and some circled
our 2 RIBs and pontoons checking out our patients. One single dolphin
went far in front of all this and it was tempting to think it was,
perhaps, an older one leading the way. As we got nearer to the sea
our dolphin made stronger movements and also the pod of dolphins
passed through us and went about 100 meters ahead and some were
breaching. As we drew level with St. Mawes Castle we decided we
were near enough the sea and each RIB gently pushed its dolphin
out of the pontoons. Ours surfaced and appeared to swim strongly
towards the large pod and we thought we saw her join them. Our elation
was tempered by the thought of all those which hadn’t survived
this strange event.
We then returned upriver and as
far up the creek as the tide allowed, then walked along the muddy
bank carrying the deflated pontoon. When we reached “Base
Camp and Control centre” at the top of the creek we saw media
vans and cameras filming the lines of dead dolphins which had been
tagged and measured by Cornwall Wildlife Trust volunteers and were
waiting for Post Mortem. It was a sight which stopped me in my tracks-
I felt numb & speechless.
After a quick drink and some butties,
we went off to Trelissick via the King Harry Ferry which kindly
let us cross free of charge, to meet with Sean and his team who
were dealing with a single stranded Common dolphin. Its breathing
rate was 10bpm but it had white froth or pus coming from the blowhole
and it’s breaths seemed shallow. We had no phone signal so
couldn’t contact James Barnett, so Sean, I and Lissa Goodwin
(Devon Co-ordinator) discussed the options, bearing in mind Sean
saw the animal restrand after refloat. It was then that at about
6pm we decided on euthanasia rather than risk the dolphin restranding
elsewhere and dying a slow death.
Thanks to all those who helped me;
Jenny Haley, Caroline and Gary Curtis, Phil Jarvis, and those helping
on all three live ones on the shore whose names I didn’t get.
Heartfelt thanks to the RNLI and Coastguard without whom we could
not have carried the animals down to the sea. To the Harbour Master
at Trelissick for transporting us to the dolphin in his boat and
taking it back to a location where it was collected for PM. To Sean
Langton for helping with the two on the east side and with the single
Common at Tresillick- his was the onerous task of euthanasing two
animals that day. Also thanks to Lissa Goodwin for advice and the
benefit of her experience in marine mammals. And to Michelle Robbinson,
Assistant Co-ordinator from North Devon, for her help. And a massive
thanks to Dave Jarvis for running round all day with a redhot phone,
co-ordinating and dealing with the media. Apologies if I’ve
left anyone out.
Darryl
Thorpe BVSc, MRCVS. Vet & BDMLR Assistant Co-ordinator
for SE Cornwall
(*
- breaths per minute)
Mass
Stranding – Percuil River, Cornwall
9th June 2008
On arrival at the
scene I boarded a boat that took me to the right hand side bank,
where two dolphins were being cared for by members of the RNLI &
staff from Gweek, keeping them supported in the shallows & being
kept wet & shaded. The breathing rates were also being monitored.
A refloat had been attempted before I arrived, but they had restranded.
One was more distressed & quiet audible & we waited for
Sean Langton, the Veterinary Surgeon to arrive. Jenny Haley &
Phil Jarvis were on the other bank with one dolphin supported in
the small pontoons.
When Sean arrived
one of our dolphins was diagnosed as poorly & it was decided
to euthanse it. I then collected the large pontoons from the other
bank with help from Percuil Boatyard who were on standby in a RIB
& our dolphin was placed in the pontoons & strapped to the
side of the boat, as was the one from the other bank & we headed
off slowly down the river. Soon we found a small pod of dolphins
that had been in the area, so other boats including the RNLI, Fire
Service & a film crew managed to corral them & got them
to head down the river. A film crew helicopter appeared overhead
which caused some disturbance among the pod, but after some friendly
had gestures & a call to the Coastguards by the RNLI it backed
off.
Further down the river
we encountered another larger pod of about 20 – 30 in the
shallows. Again the boats & teams on shore managed to get them
back into deeper waters & moving down the river. Nearer to the
open sea, as we approached the Lighthouse, it was decided to try
a release. Ours listed slightly, but then regained it’s composure
& continued with the rest of the pod heading out to sea. The
boats came to a stop & watched until they were out of sight.
We then returned back up the river to sort the kit & deal with
the dead ones.
Tim
Bain
Cornwall Area Co-ordinator
Dolphin
Mass Stranding - A Medics Report
I
was given the job of checking the Percuil River & nearby areas,
with Debs Wallace, a Cornwall Wildlife Trust Marine Strandings Network
volunteer & Helmsman Dave Nicoll on the RNLI inshore lifeboat,
to see if there were any other animals in need of rescuing, swimming
off shore, or dead. We found no bodies or other stranded animals,
but came across a pod of about 25 common dolphins swimming around
the mouth of the creek. We watched them for a while & noted
that they were in no immediate danger, so we came back down the
creek still checking for any further strandings, finding a further
group of about five that were free swimming near the animals being
rescued by medics. We then began to collect up some of the dead
bodies that were floating in the water & moved them back up
to the quayside for later collection.
The lifeboat then
received a message to advise that a pod of dolphins had been seen
near the shore at Place. It appears that these were the same group
that we had seen earlier. The animals were vocalising a lot, circling
but in deep water & other people in boats were watching them.
A further call was then received from Falmouth Harbourmaster that
dolphins were now also close in to the Bosun’s Locker area
of the Falmouth Harbour, so we went over to check on them as well.
On arrival, we saw medic Lisa Clarke, with the Harbourmaster, watching
the animals from his boat, which was moored nearby. We saw approximately
10 dolphins, including a very young calf, all of which seemed to
be confused & circling. Lisa advised that a couple of them had
tried to beach themselves on a small area of mud & seaweed.
I told Lisa that I would get more medics to come & help her
& to continue monitoring them & report if the situation
got worse. We then returned to the Percuil River to check on the
progress of the animals that were being rescued, noting that the
dolphins at Place were still in a satisfactory location, but still
very noisy, as we passed them.
An urgent call was
then received that one of the animals at Place was attempting to
strand, so I transferred into a smaller boat, with Gary Hawkins,
returned to the quayside to collect more equipment, lifejackets
& two additional medics, before heading back up the creek to
meet the Cornwall Fire Service boat that was going to take us back
to Place. The boat carried medics Lissa Billington, Nikki Kelman,
Gary & myself, as well as Jenny, a CWT volunteer. When we got
there it was clear that the dolphins had moved much closer to the
shore, although none were on the beach, but acting strangely because
they were tail slapping, leaping sideways, continuing to swim in
circles & vocalising. A boat was quite close to them & it
was instructed to move away. Shortly afterwards, we saw medics on
the beach, then the Devon BDMLR Ambulance & then three or four
other boats arrived, so Gary did an excellent job in organising
the positioning of the boats & we gently herded the dolphins
out back towards deeper water. The team on the shore followed us
round on the rocks to make sure that none of the animals stranded.
By coincidence, a bit further out to sea, the boats with the rescue
pontoons came past, with the five free swimming dolphins from the
Percuil River. When the animals we were dealing with noticed the
others they all took off after them & made for the sea.
Following the successful
release of the animals in the pontoons, two boats, including ours
went back over to Falmouth Harbour to check on those creatures.
We found them still in the same location & behaving as before.
It was decided in conjunction with the Harbourmaster, to try to
herd them out using four boats & two medics in kayaks, but the
dolphins would only go so far before splitting up & returning
to their original position. As there was a young one involved, the
attempt was discontinued & the animals were to be monitored
from land, by the team on the quayside. Therefore the fireboat returned
us to the head of the Percuil River to drop us off & because
there was no water left, we walked back to Froe with the equipment.
I
would like to thank Dave Nicholl of the RNLI, the crew of the Cornwall
County Fire Service boat, the Harbourmasters & all the individual
boat owners for all their skill & determination in the rescue
of these animal, also Gary Hawkins for organising all of the boats
& all the medics & CWT MSN volunteers for dealing with everything
that was thrown at them. I would also like to especially thank Conrad
Birnie for his patience & assistance with everyone involved.
Although an horrific incident it was an absolute pleasure to work
with such determined & dedicated people.
Medic
Lesley Jarvis
Cornwall Area
Common
dolphin mass stranding, Fal Bay
9th June 2008.
My first direct involvement with
the mass stranding incident came later in the day once I had finished
work at the National Seal Sanctuary. Coordinator Dave Jarvis tasked
myself and other members of the Animal Care Team with going to Gillan,
at the mouth of the Helford Estuary, to check on reports of 6+ dolphins
close to the shore that were in danger of becoming stranded. We
loaded up a van with rescue equipment and then headed out.
Arriving at Gillan, we met up with
Medics Caroline Curtis and Cheryl Mills with Kent and Sarah Harvey.
They had just received word that the dolphins had now moved further
offshore and no longer required monitoring or assistance, so we
all turned around and went to Falmouth Harbour where the last large
group of dolphins was still amongst the boats in the marina, having
been the for most of the afternoon since an earlier herding attempt
proved too difficult.
When we got to Falmouth, we met
up with a number of other Medics that were monitoring about 8 dolphins,
mostly younger animals and one small calf, in the marina adjacent
to the National Maritime Museum. A very large crowd of people lined
the seafront watching them and there was some activity in the water
with various boats and kayaks in use nearby. There were also reports
of small groups or pairs of dolphins out in the main river channel
and out in the estuary channel as well. After watching the animals
immediately below us, and based on the accounts of the Medics that
had been watching them earlier, it appeared that they had been confined
to the same small area for some time, refusing to dive under the
boats to get away to a deeper, safer place behind the marina. Inspecting
the geography of the immediate area it was obvious why they were
apparently unable to find their way out, as the location was approximately
rectangular in shape and the only exit was in a corner that would
be difficult for them to find. Beyond this was where the majority
of water-based activity was taking place, so essentially the dolphins
were stuck, thus it was decided that the dolphins needed to be encouraged
towards the exit and out towards the main channel so they could
then find their own way to safety.
Several Medics, led by Caroline
and myself, made their way down into the marina and set about commandeering
small boats and tenders to begin a herding attempt. However, it
was quickly ascertained that the spaces between the boats were too
easy for the dolphins to get through, so a group of nearby kayakers
and a couple more small boats were asked to assist, while Medics
in drysuits entered the water to help fill in any remaining holes.
As one, the carefully coordinated
formation slowly moved forward and the dolphins responded positively,
moving together straight towards the exit point. They did once again
try to turn back as they approached the corner, but then they seemed
to realise there was a way out and they quickly headed along the
seafront and into a more open area away from the marina. At this
point all swimmers left the water or were hauled aboard the flotilla
of small boats for safety reasons, and because they were unable
to keep up!
As the dolphins were now heading
upstream, more boats ahead of the dolphins were coordinated to head
them off, diverting them out into the yacht mooring area and closer
to the main channel. A short game of plugging holes between moored
yachts then ensued, which turned out very successfully for the flotilla
as the pod moved into a deeper area behind the marina next to Falmouth
Dockyard, which is also right next to the main channel. Some of
the dolphins later noticed that they could swim underneath boats,
and part of the group dived, resurfacing on the other side of the
marina pontoons and moored boats back where they started, although
a short while later they reappeared back where they had been herded
to. Everyone agreed that now they were in a better location with
a much greater chance of escaping the river, that the flotilla should
discontinue their efforts and leave the dolphins to do their own
thing.
The majority of Medics were stood
down with the onset of darkness and arrangements were made to check
the river, estuary and surrounding coastline early next morning
for any further strandings or sightings. Myself, along with Medics
Clare McGowan, Rebecca Allen and Jason Birt stayed on to continue
with monitoring, and saw one of the smaller dolphins breach fully
from the water a few times before settling down with the others
again.
I
wish to thank all the Medics involved in the numerous rescue attempts
throughout the day for their exceptional efforts, despite some of
them having been ‘on the go’ since the original strandings
at Froe. Also thanks must go to the numerous boat owners that allowed
us to get in with them at Falmouth to help with the herding attempt
along with the kayakers - it really is incredible what determination
and good planning can achieve in situations like this, and the number
of animals that were rescued altogether is just brilliant. Finally,
thank you to the people behind the scenes – there was National
Coordinator Trevor Weeks and Administrator Sue White at BDMLR Head
Office who did a great job of calling out a large amount of Medics
and directing them to the various locations; Tony Woodley for dealing
with the huge amount of media interest; and to all the people on
the BDMLR Forum for all their morale-boosting support during the
incident and afterwards.
Well
done everyone, you should be very proud of everything you did that
day.
Dan
Jarvis
Marine Mammal Medic
British Divers Marine Life Rescue
Report
from Monday 9th June
I received a call
from Dave Jarvis at about 9.30am saying there was a mass stranding
of dolphins on the Roseland in a creek just off the Percuil River.
I took down all the details and after checking with work that I
could leave spoke to Leanne Birtles (A new medic who had completed
the course on the 1st June) who works at the practice and had just
finished the night shift. We set off armed with lots of maps!!
We arrived at Froe
creek at 10.15am we were met in the car park by a member of the
coast guard who directed us through a garden to the edge of the
creek, there were bodies everywhere. A boat was waiting to take
us and two other medics out into the creek; we were told that people
were supporting 3 live dolphins on the waters edge. As the boat
took us up the creek there were two medics supporting two dolphins
on the right and a lone dolphin was on the left, Dave Jarvis was
with this, along with a member of the public. Myself and Leanne
took over looking after that dolphin while Dave went to co-ordinate
other medics still arriving.
We put the dolphin
onto a body bag for support (given to us by the RNLI) the tide was
rapidly going out and the creek bed on our side had large stones
and rocks so we were unable to dig the trenches for her pectoral
fins. So using the body bag to protect her body I put her head and
upper body on my legs with her fins on either side this kept the
weight off her fins and was also a little comfort, for me and her!
Leanne put seaweed on her body as we didn’t have sheets and
Leanne and M.o.P used hands and a bucket to keep her wet. Phil Jarvis
arrived with another medic and a tarpaulin, we used this to erect
shade as it was getting hotter. Phil also collected seaweed and
packed a lot under her body again because of the rocks on our side.
Her breathing was monitored on average every 5 mins and had gone
from 20bpm when we arrived to about 8-10 bpm (breaths per min)
Two more boats arrived,
one with medic Caroline Curtis and Vet Darryl Thorp the other boat
had a camera crew and poss. M.o.p. At this point she started to
get agitated as more people arrived (not to mention a vet) and her
breathing went up to 20. This decreased to 10-14 as the area quietened
down. I told Darryl what had been happening while Caroline helped
Leanne put water on her (nicknamed Lady)
Phil Jarvis arrived with the dolphin pontoons so that we could try
and support her in the water. As we tried to move her she started
to thrash around which made positioning her on the pontoons difficult
after two attempts we got her into the correct position and inflated
them. We moved her out into waist high water, and started to restore
equilibrium, at this point she was bringing her head out of the
water on her own to breath.
I was then told that vet Sean Langton was going to euthanase one
of the dolphins on the other bank and would need help. The RNLI
boys literally hauled me onto the boat (very unlady like) to cross
the creek. I helped Sean euthanase the dolphin (a male). The second
dolphin -also male- was put onto tarpaulin and floated out into
the creek by the medics. (Tamara, Tim etc) I walked a little way
up the creek with the others before again being hauled onto the
RNLI boat to go back to the female.
The pontoon was strapped to the side of a RIB (owned by Mark of
St Mawes sit on kayaks) Darryl, Caroline and I kept an eye on the
dolphin while we moved forward at tick over speed. By this time
the other boats in the creek (Falmouth fire brigade boat, RNLI,
coastguard and other small boats) had formed a “barrier”
to prevent the 7 free swimming dolphins from going further up the
creek. We waited for the 2nd dolphin to be put onto the whale pontoon
that was strapped to another boat (? Fire brigade boat) our dolphin
was calling most of the time so Caroline suggested that we turn
the female to face the pod to hopefully keep them moving in the
right direction.
Then a helicopter appeared and started to hover fairly low over
us, this frightened the 7 dolphins back up the creek and also upset
our dolphin in the pontoon. After a while the RNLI managed to contact
the pilot of the helicopter and asked him to move away.
The people on the boats that were part of the barrier had to use
paddles and their hands to slap the water to make the dolphins in
the water turn round; again Mark turned the boat so that our female
was facing the pod. They came back and circled our boat, at this
point we could see they looked healthy and there was even a mom
and calf.
We set off again towards
the Percuil River, 2 ribs with bright yellow pontoons attached and
about 5-6 other boats forming “the barrier” all going
at no wake speed. At the end of the creek we needed to turn the
pod to the left to enter the river. Again Mark moved the boat so
that our female, still calling, faced the pod. Two boats moved into
position to block the other end of the river off, the pod moved
into the main river. The pod picked up speed here as the water was
deeper, our female also made more of an effort to go and it took
all 3 of us at times to keep her in the pontoon (I made the cardinal
sin, had my head at times over the blow hole) Caroline had the tail
end making sure she didn’t go off the back, Darryl had the
middle keeping her in an upright position, Me at the head bringing
her forward if she went too far back.
At
the mouth of the river it was noted that there was a large pod of
approx 30 dolphins very close to the other shore near St Anthony’s
head. There were medics and M.o.P on the beach. Again we stopped
as the “barrier” of boats (there were now more, as well
as kayakers) moved very quietly round the outside to block a second
creek and to coax the pod back into deeper water, again Mark moved
the boat so our female was facing the pod, They started to move
towards us.
At this point the RNLI boat had gone a few yards away to rescue
a man clinging to the side of his boat, he had tried to get a better
view of what was going on and fell in!!
A lone dolphin was spotted way out in front of us and as we made
our way out into the main bay followed by many boats the large pod
including our 7 swam quickly out and could be seen breaching out
of the water.
The RIBs were put side by side with the pontoons together. The two
dolphins were released at the same time; the female seemed a little
unresponsive to begin with but swam off strongly in the direction
of the main group. The male swam about the boat moving off a lot
slower but also headed in the direction of the main pod.
Mark
took us back to the creek, we had to walk some of the way as the
tide was right out, we arrived back to see the very sad sight of
lines of dead dolphins.
Jenny
Haley
Central Cornwall Assistant Coordinator
British Divers Marine Life Rescue
A Vet/Medic
Report - Mass Dolphiin Stranding
On
my arrival at Froe Creek I was directed to the pair of stranded
common dolphins on the north bank. The other veterinary surgeon
in attendance, Darryl Thorpe, having triaged them and moved over
to the south bank before I arrived. Once I reached the location
I found 2 RNLI lifeboatmen and a handful of medics doing a sterling
job at keeping the animals supported and wet in the water.
My
first task was to examine the animals and try to assess whether
it would be appropriate to refloat them, and if it was, what treatment
was needed before that could be done. The first animal I examined
was breathing very rapidly, a sign of stress, and the RNLI and medics
had attempted to refloat her several times already using a tarpaulin
but each time she stranded again. The animal was obviously in distress
and suffering so sadly I had no choice but to euthanase her. Although
this was upsetting for all involved (myself included), especially
since we had all seen the large number of dead dolphins stranded
in the creek, it was in the animal’s best interest.
More
happily was what happened with the other common dolphin entrusted
to my care. We successfully refloated this animal using a tarpaulin
and supported her down the creek to the level of the south bank
dolphin. The other team had already used the dolphin pontoons to
refloat their animal, so we were left with the whale pontoons. These
were inflated and attached to a RIB belonging to the very helpful
Ian from Percuil Boatyard. We transferred the dolphin into the pontoon
sling still in the tarpaulin. Since the pontoon was a lot bigger
than the animal we had to support her to stop her blowhole from
going under the water and from slipping out the back of the sling.
The sight of Phil, Tim, Tamara and I sat in the pontoon holding
up the dolphin must have made an amusing sight!
As
the 2 boats with attached dolphins made their way up the river we
collected the unstranded and previously refloated animals and herded/encouraged
them towards the Fal Estuary with the help of the Falmouth lifeboat,
the Fire Service RIB, a RIB full of TV camera men, a group of people
in sea kayaks and assorted other boats.
There
was one moment when it seemed like the mission was doomed to failure.
A television helicopter came over the creek and started making passes
in various directions overhead. This seriously upset both the animals
in the pontoons and the free swimming dolphins that were moving
with us. After much waving and some not quite so polite hand signals
from Darryl and I, the medics and lifeboatmen it took the intervention
of the coastguard I understand to get the message across to leave
us alone.
We
plodded our way down the river, about a mile and a quarter in the
end, to the Fal Estuary. We decided to release the dolphins from
the pontoons by the lighthouse beach. The dolphin from our pontoon
had a wobbly misdirected start, which had us worried initially,
but she soon got her bearings and took off after the others. The
sight of a large group of dolphins swimming out into the estuary
was amazing and something I’ll never forget.
Once
we’d watched our dolphins disappear we turned around and headed
back up river. The lifeboatmen returned to the lifeboat and Ian
took us to his boat yard as the falling tide meant we couldn’t
get back where we’d started. We packed away the pontoons and
Ian ran us back to our cars and a waiting Dave in his pick-up.
On
returning to the start point it became apparent that we were not
in the only hotspot of stranding activity. My car was parked at
the edge and hence I was the only person not blocked in, so I headed
off towards a report of strandings on the Helford River. After crossing
the King Harry Ferry and making it out onto the main road I was
called by the office to tell me that I should turn around as there
was another reported stranding at the National Trust’s Trewithen
estate and I was the nearest medic to it.
On
arrival at Trewithen the National Trust staff seemed to have no
idea we were coming, but after a quick discussion we had worked
out or destination by process of elimination. When we reached the
mudflats the dolphin was stranded on the far side of the bay but
was still in the shallow water. After checking that the dolphin
was the one in question, and there wasn’t another hiding around
the corner we made our way, with the help of Tom from the NT around
the edge of the mudflats to the location of the dolphin.
When
the medics I was with and I made it down to the dolphin it was in
a bad way, it had beached itself on the mud/gravel bottom and wasn’t
keeping it’s head up above the water so that it could breathe.
The medics lifted it up and supported it in the water whilst I conducted
a physical exam. By this time the cavalry had arrived in the form
of Phil, Darryl and others.
The
breathing was erratic and there were some very sudden sharp but
not particularly effective breaths, if you can imagine a dolphin
sneezing then that’s what it looked like. There was also a
significant amount of discharge from the blowhole. Darryl and I
decided that given the poor respiration, the discharge and the fact
that the animal could not support itself in the water, the dolphin
was not going to be refloated successfully. After coming to this
conclusion we had no option but to euthanase the dolphin.
A
sad end to the day especially since we were all very tired both
physically and emotionally but I’m clinging to the sight of
those dolphins going out into the estuary and the knowledge that
we saved lots of lives however grim the TV news is making it out
to be. I think BDMLR proved it’s worth and it was so nice
to see people in general willing to give up their time and energy.
A good job was done by all involved, in extreme circumstances, lets
hope they were a one-off however I think we’d all do it again
tomorrow if we needed to.
Sean
Langton BVetMed MRCVS
Veterinary Surgeon and Marine Mammal Medic
Report
re Mass Stranding from On-Call Coordinator
At 09.00 on Monday 09/06/08
I received a report from a member of the public about a live dolphin
stranded in Cornwall I passed the information on to Dave Jarvis,
not realising it would turn out to be the start of one of the busiest
two days for the BDMLR.
I
was then called by two of our Community Wardens to a seal that had
hauled itself out onto a wall by steps leading to the beach by the
harbour in Bridlington and realised it would need to be 'encouraged'
back into the sea because, if left, it would have been 10 foot above
the beach and I don’t think seals have learnt to fly yet.
This
was done with much towel waving and eventually it flopped back into
the sea, 'nil pointe' for artistic impression but more graceful
than a 10ft drop onto the sand.
We
observed the seal and hoped it would head back out to sea with the
out going tide but, oh no,( why do seals make it more difficult
for themselves and us!!) it took a right turn instead of a left(sat
nav out of sync obviously) and swam into Bridlington harbour
Marlene and I raced round into the harbour as it made a bee line
to more steps but I beat the seal to it and it was confronted with
the mad blonde doing her impression of 'dancing like your dad' on
the harbour steps waving a towel, seal had a rethink, thought better
of it and swam of as fast as its flips would take it out of the
harbour and into safer waters!!
When I got home the first
reports of the dolphins were coming in and I realised it was going
to be a major incident. I contacted HQ for an update and prepared
myself for a busy night
As soon as Sue handed over
to me the calls started to come in from the media and the public
The media were great and
I know they can sometimes come in for a lot of flak but all the
journalists I spoke to were sympathetic and wanted to help and pass
on any information. I passed these calls onto Dave and his team
(mind you I did get some funny remarks about my being involved living
in Yorkshire, one journalist asked if I could do a live interview
in Devon in half an hour and I told him that would be pushing it
from Yorkshire!!)
The
members of the public were also brilliant offering help and wanting
to know more. I referred those members of the public wanting to
know more to our website
On a personal note may I say a very big 'well done' to the team
in Cornwall and to all the other agencies involved in the rescue
I hope we never have to deal with something on that scale again.
I hope, in a very small way, I was of some assistance to you all,
keep up the good work!! and I am proud to be part of such a fantastic
organisation as BDMLR
Lesley Salisbury Marine Mammal Medic
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