close

Beaching: One dolphin dead, one dies during transport to clinic

1 min read

On Thursday morning, officials from Florida Fish & Wildlife Commission and the Lee County Sheriff’s Office were called to Fort Myers Beach for a dolphin fatality by the Town Pier.

One dolphin was found dead on shore, while another appeared injured or sick in the shallow water.

After a barrier was placed around the dead dolphin, FWC officials attended to the one in the water. It was brought to shore, carried onto a pick-up truck bed and transported to a climate control vehicle.

Officials said the vehicle carrying the injured or sick dolphin, an older female, would be met by other officials of Mote Marine along the way to its facility. The animal was expected to be accessed and tested but was euthanized because she was having seizures and was in poor condition, the Associated Press reported.

Mote Marine Laboratory in Sarasota will perform necropsies on the dead animals.

“FWC officials flew over the area where the two dolphins were beached but didn’t find any more stranded dolphins,” AP reported.

– Material from the Associated Press is included in this report.