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Dolphin washing ashore no cause for alarm
Published January 1, 2009
SURFSIDE BEACH — Concerns about the environmental implications of a dolphin washing up on Surfside’s beach over the weekend are unwarranted, experts say — the dolphin likely died of natural causes.
Freeport resident Wendy Howe said she saw the remains of a 6- to 7-foot dolphin on the beach in front of Cedar Sands Motel while on an early morning walk Saturday. Alarmed, she called Brazoria County Animal Control, which forwarded the information to the Texas Marine Mammal Stranding Network.
Howe said she has been taking walks along the beach for a year and hadn’t seen a dead dolphin before.
However, a dead dolphin washing ashore is a fairly common occurrence, according to Heidi Whitehead, state operations coordinator for the Texas Marine Mammal Stranding Network.
“Some will die off every year,” she said. “This is normal.”
December through March are called the “stranding season” at the network. More dolphins wash ashore during this time than during other months, Whitehead said, likely because of health problems brought on by the onset of colder weather, she said.
The Texas Marine Mammal Stranding Network is the only organization in Texas allowed to handle dead or stranded dolphins. This year, they removed more than 100 dolphins from the Texas coast, including 20 dolphins from Surfside Beach after the dolphin was found Saturday, she said.
The stranding network plans to do a necropsy on the dolphin, but officials believe the death was not caused by humans, Whitehead said. Because the dolphin already was decomposing, Whitehead is unsure if an exact cause of death can be determined.
If residents spot a stranded dolphin, they should call the network at 1-800-9-MAMMAL, Whitehead said. The network will respond as soon as possible, especially if the dolphin still is alive, she said.
Katlynn Lanham is a reporter for The Facts. Contact her at (979) 237-0150.
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