Dead dolphins have been washing up on Texas beaches as the state's stranding season peaks.
Around 18 dolphins have already been stranded along the Gulf Coast in January, and this number is only expected to increase, the nonprofit Texas Marine Mammal Stranding Network told Newsweek in an email.
An uptick in bottlenose dolphin strandings always occurs at this time of year in Texas.
"It is dolphin stranding season for Texas and over the next few months we will likely continue to see an increase in stranded dolphins, both alive and dead, due to various causes," Texas Marine Mammal Stranding Network said on a Facebook post.
The nonprofit organization said the animals can get stranded for a number of reasons including weather, illness injury and birthing complications.
"If alive, we may transport them to our Rehabilitation & Research Center in Galveston, and if dead, we will aim to learn more from them for their conservation," the organization said.
The stranding season usually lasts until April. Standings occur all over the world and are very common among marine mammals.
Since 1980, there have been over 6,000 stranded marine mammals washing up along the Texas coast, according to data from the charity.
"The TMMSN not only gathers data to maintain important baselines, but we also collect samples for analysis and submit reports to a national database on each dolphin to ensure that we are not seeing any unusual causes of above average mortality rates," Heidi Whitehead, the executive director of the stranding network, said in an email sent to Newsweek.
Time is always of the essence when a dolphin strands. If they are still alive when they strand, they must be kept wet otherwise they will die more quickly.
It is possible to re-float a stranded animal; however, it is not easy. Not long ago, a dolphin and her calf were found stranded in the shallows. With partners, the stranding network was able to rescue the pair and reintroduce them to their home waters near Galveston.
It also takes a lot of resources even when the dolphin is found to be already dead.
A few weeks ago, the charity was called to a beach in Galveston, where a large dead dolphin measuring 8.5 feet was found.
"Bottlenose dolphins can get very large in size, so having access to partner resources, such as these, along with your support, is key to continuing our mission to further understand and conserve these animals through stranding investigation," the stranding network said in Facebook on January 10, not long after the stranding occurred. "Thank you to everyone that assisted with this recovery yesterday and we thank anyone that has helped us in the past or will help us in the future!"
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Uncommon Knowledge
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
About the writer
Robyn White is a Newsweek Nature Reporter based in London, UK. Her focus is reporting on wildlife, science and the ... Read more
