Two common dolphins which caused a stir when they were sighted in the River Great Ouse at King’s Lynn in Norfolk and then Bluntisham, near Huntingdon, last week have sadly died.
The calf had to be euthanised on welfare grounds on Saturday night after it was found in a distressed state trapped in reefs in the New Bedford River near Pymoor, Cambridgeshire. British Divers Marine Life Rescue volunteers swiftly attended the scene along with other organisations and made attempts to refloat the young mammal and send it on its way, but sadly these valiant efforts proved in vain.
There were hopes that the mother dolphin would manage to find her way back towards the sea, but the mammal was tragically found floating dead in the same river on Monday.
BDMLR’s Dan Jarvis said it was ‘very disappointing and sad’ that both dolphins had died, while Rob Deaville, a Cetacean Strandings Investigation Programme expert, said that port-mortem examinations are due to be carried out on both animals.
Photo credit: BDMLR
