A Dolphin Calf is Saved

A newborn bottlenose dolphin was saved and returned to the wild after a holidaymaker in Herolds Bay found it trapped between the rocks metres offshore.

At dawn on Friday morning, Deon van der Merwe, 53, from Stellenbosch was collecting black mussels from rocks in front of his holiday house when he heard "something calling" some distance away amongst the rocks.

He rushed over and found the 1.1m dolphin in a shallow pool. "I carefully picked him up and carried him to a deeper, calmer pool. The calf exhaled some water and foam and my first concern was to support him in the water so that he could get the water out of his lungs."

He said the dolphin had two minor scratches, one above his right eye and the other below the tip of his snout.

"As I slowly released him to swim free but it soon became clear that he swam straight into the rocks every time, injuring himself further. I therefore had to hold him, allowing him to breathe. I knew he had no chance of surviving on his own even if I swam him out beyond the surf."

Van der Merwe said earlier that morning there were other dolphins in the bay which had gone by the time he found the calf. He said the calf was still very young as it had a 30mm umbilical chord attached.

At that time, life guards on duty called the George fire and rescue services and the local SPCA.

"I was hoping someone with knowledge of small dolphins would turn up but no one came."

About two hours went by and the tide was moving in which resulted in bystanders moving the calf to a tidal pool.

Van der Merwe said he was frustrated and feared for the dolphin's life as no one in the vicinity had any knowledge of young dolphins.

A bystander eventually contacted uShaka Marine World in Durban who assisted over the phone.

"At that stage the calf had started shivering and had started to poke his nose under my armpit sticking out his tongue. It was clear that he wanted to suckle. The moment I looked into his eyes I realised that he could see me. Feeling the warmth of his breath and later his shivers and attempts to suckle, was quite an experience," he said.

An NSRI rescue rubber duck from Wilderness later arrived, and the dolphin was handed over to rescue services and the SPCA. The calf was escorted to deeper waters by boat and released in the vicinity of three other dolphins.

"Before swimming off it circled our boat three times, as if to say thank you," said NSRI spokesman Craig Lambinon. - Cape Times

By Chad Cupido
chad.cupido@inl.co.za