November
CCSN recently had a case of a juvenile male pilot whale that was swimming around in Wellfleet Harbor alone. The animal was alert and responsive although swimming sluggishly and bobbing at the surface most of the time. Pilot whales are extremely social animals and the fact that he was by himself suggested that the animal was either sick or injured. We did not want to herd the animal out of the harbor as its behavior/predicament indicated that he was most likely ill – but the whale was also too strong to strand. So we monitored the animal for six days prior to losing sight of it (a recreational boater herded it out of the harbor against CCSN staff's request). Four days later, the pilot whale was found stranded at Blackfish Creek, Wellfleet in extremely poor health. The animal was humanely euthanized and a necropsy was conducted the following day to determine the cause of stranding. Preliminary results indicate that the animal suffered from a substantial fungal infection of the lungs, among other ailments. This case illustrates the point that sometimes the best course of action is to wait and watch. The animal was evidently not suffering initially and the risk of performing a water rescue was too great for both the staff and the whale. The best component of this event was the fantastic public education that occurred each day at the town pier, led by a few of the most dedicated volunteers.
July 27
The summer months have given CCSN a lot to talk about. We have seen quite the variety of live animals, in both single and mass strandings. Hooded seals have made a rare summer appearance on the Cape – straying far from their cold summer foraging grounds off Canada and Greenland to make an unfortunate visit to our territory on some of the hottest days of the year. Most of these animals are so sick, they have died before CCSN arrived on scene. We are sending samples out for further testing to see exactly what is making these animals ill.
Other live single strandings of interest:
• Adult female Pygmy Sperm Whale at West Dennis Beach on June 11th
• Juvenile gray seal with a broken jaw in Orleans on June 12th
• Juvenile minke whale in Sandwich on July 2nd
• Adult female Risso’s dolphin in Westport on July 26th
We also just had a multi-day mass stranding event of nine Atlantic white-sided dolphins at First Encounter Beach in Eastham. We were able to rescue, relocate, and release every single dolphin that stranded alive thanks to the help of our dedicated volunteers and town and Seashore officials! In cooperation with the New England Aquarium, three dolphins had satellite tags attached to their dorsal fins in order to track their post-release success. I can happily report that all three dolphins we are tracking appear to be doing well! Follow their progress at: http://whale.wheelock.edu/whalenet-stuff/StopNEAq7-06/ .
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 Trained CCSN Volunteers provide supportive care to a stranded pygmy sperm whale in Dennisport. |
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| CCSN staff and volunteers perform a final health assessment on the dolphins prior to release at Herring Cove, Provincetown. A large crowd of beachgoers gathered to watch the excitement. |
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| CCSN staff and volunteers carry the dolphins on specially designed stretchers back to the water for their release! |
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Below is a summary of the Mass Stranding Events of July 2006:
Sunday 7/16/06: A group of 14 white sided dolphins was discovered behind the Wellfleet Town Pier by the Harbormaster on a quickly falling tide. After speaking with Mike Flannigan (Harbormaster), we decided that action could not wait for CCSN staff to arrive and he volunteered to herd the animals out of the dangerous area. Using a jet ski, Mike was able to successfully herd the entire group out past buoy # 12 (past the breakwater) to safer waters. CCSN attempted to re-sight the animals from our boat, but did not find any dolphins later that day.
Monday 7/17/06: A group of 20 white sided dolphins was seen in very shallow water off First Encounter beach in Eastham about one hour before low tide. Eastham DNR staff members were on scene and splashed the water with their hands to deter the group from stranding. Their efforts were largely successful, only two of the 20 stranded that day. Those two animals (one adult female and one adult male) were deemed healthy and transported to Herring Cove in Provincetown and released. One of the animals (female) received a satellite tag to track her progress.
Tuesday 7/18/06: Five live white sided dolphins were found high and dry one hour before low tide again at First Encounter Beach in Eastham. On the hottest day of summer! Two of the animals were juveniles, three adults. The animals were again transported to Herring Cove for release. Two of these animals received satellite tags for tracking purposes.
Wednesday 7/19/06: One adult female (lactating) was found dead about a mile and a half north of First Encounter Beach. The animal was collected and a necropsy was performed to determine cause of death.
Sunday 7/23/2006: One juvenile Atlantic white-sided dolphin was found dead in Truro. Due to the condition of the carcass, it was determined that this animal most likely died around the time of the other dolphins stranded, and was likely part of their group.
*Fun Fact: CCSN transports stranded dolphins to ocean beaches with deep water access in Provincetown or Truro rather than releasing them at the stranding site. The reason for this is based on years of stranding response experience. We have found again and again that if we release dolphins from stranding sites in Cape Cod Bay, they will inevitably strand again. In order to prevent avoidable re-stranding and possible death, we transport them across land in CCSN trailers and trucks to the designated release sites. We have had great success with this strategy for the past two years and are hoping for similar results this time!
April 15
The Cape Cod Stranding Network (CCSN) has been bustling with activity recently. Since January 1, 2006 we have responded to 174 stranded marine mammals. Strandings have mainly involved dolphins and porpoises (132), a large percentage (42%) of which stranded alive. CCSN and the New England Aquarium together have released 21 dolphins back to the wild since the beginning of the year. These animals were deemed healthy by trained professionals and relocated to an appropriate release site. Two of the dolphins were affixed with satellite tags prior to release and you can track their journey at the following website:
http://whale.wheelock.edu/whalenet-stuff/StopNEAq1-06/
We have also responded to 42 stranded seals and transferred 7 of these to rehabilitation facilities within the region for longer-term care. In the past two months we have seen many young gray seals that have recently been weaned from their mothers and are often exhausted when they hit the beaches, needing a few good nights of rest on shore before returning to the ocean. We are also preparing for a busy harbor seal pup season, which should begin shortly. We are planning to post signs at local beaches before the summer to make our hotline number readily available to beachgoers. Look for our signs at your beach starting in late June!
Remember: the best thing to do for seals on the beach is to let them rest unless they are injured or ill, then please call our HOTLINE: 508-743-9548. Remember to stay at least 150 feet away from a resting seal in order to keep the seal, people, and pets safe!
December Storm Starts String of Mass Strandings
The December 10th, 2005 storm started a string of mass strandings on Cape Cod that left rescuers exhausted and searching for answers. During that brief, but violent storm, 45 pilot whales and dolphins stranded on beaches and marshes from Barnstable to Wellfleet. The animals that were found alive were in such bad condition due to wind burn and exposure during the storm that the only option was to help end their suffering humanely. And to think that this was only the beginning of this unprecedented stranding season.
So far this winter, CCSN staff and volunteers, in conjunction with our partners at the New England Aquarium, have responded to nine mass stranding events involving 122 animals. These mass strandings have involved either Atlantic white-sided dolphins, common dolphins, or a combination of the two species. Of the animals that have stranded so far this season, 22 have been released back into the ocean. Two of the released animals were fitted with a satellite tag in order to track their progress after the release. Satellite tags have revealed invaluable information about how the dolphins fare and where they travel after their terrestrial interruption. We are extremely excited because both of the animals have found their way offshore to deep waters off the east coast of Cape Cod and seem to be doing quite well. The mass stranding prevention program has been implemented on two occasions this winter to help avoid strandings. Thirty-five Atlantic white-sided dolphins have been herded out of potentially hazardous locations using vessels and pingers (acoustic deterrents).
Mass strandings always beg the question, “why is this happening,” but particularly now with this unusual string of events, everyone is wondering what the cause is. There are a number of factors that may be playing into this unique situation. Extreme tides and high winds are often associated with mass strandings, as they have been with some of this season’s. The unseasonably warm temperatures we have been experiencing this winter may potentially be affecting prey distribution, thus in turn, affecting the distribution of the dolphins themselves. Rarely have mass strandings of multiple dolphin species been recorded, suggesting that perhaps a convergence of common dolphins and Atlantic white-sided dolphins at sea may be causing this curious pattern.
Sequence of Strandings:
December 10th: 18 pilot whales, 25 common dolphins, 2 Atlantic white-sided dolphins
December 30th - 31st: 5 common dolphins, FOUR RELEASED
January 14th: 10 common dolphins, FIVE RELEASED
January 17th: 4 Atlantic white-sided dolphins
January 19th – 23rd: 14 common dolphins, 11 Atlantic white-sided dolphins
January 26th: 4 common dolphins
January 27th: 14 common dolphins, 3 Atlantic white-sided dolphins, FIVE RELEASED
January 28th: 5 Atlantic white-sided dolphins, all released in Provincetown
January 29th: 30 Atlantic white-sided dolphins herded to safer waters, out of the Herring River, Wellfleet
January 31st: 5 Atlantic white-sided dolphins herded out of the Herring River, Wellfleet
February 1st: 6 common dolphins and 1 Atlantic white-sided dolphin
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