WELLFLEET – Some 125 dolphins stranded in Wellfleet Harbor near “the gut” not far from Great Island Friday morning. All available International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) volunteers were responding to assess the conditions and determine how many could be saved and transported presumable to Herring Cove Beach in Provincetown to be released back into the water.
Wellfleet Police report that on Friday at approximately 10 AM, they received a call from a resident on Chequessett Neck Road that approximately 50 dolphins appeared to be in distress in Wellfleet Harbor. At this time the tide was going out and many of the dolphins were stranded. IFAW had already bneen notified and were on location attempting to assist the dolphins. The updated approximate number of dolphins that were in distress is 100. Because of the number of volunteers, officers were remaining on location to assist with traffic.
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From IFAW: Our valiant marine mammal rescue team is in the midst of what may be the largest single mass stranding event in our response history. 125 Atlantic white-sided dolphins stranded this morning in Wellfleet in an area called the Herring River Gut – the epicenter of our mass strandings.
At least 25 IFAW staff and 100 volunteers are on scene attempting to use three small vessels and underwater pingers (noise) to herd the dolphins back out to deeper waters. They used the rising tide to refloat the animals, and now the tide is in their favor as they work with partner organizations and volunteers to herd the animals out of the estuary and into deeper waters offshore.
There is no set reason for why these dolphins strand. Cape Cod is a global stranding hotspot due to the curvature of our shores and the fluctuation of our tides.
IFAW photos:
