Stranded Dolphin Rode 3+ Miles on a Padded Stretcher With a Sheet Over Its Back

On August 10, 2020, medics from British Divers Marine Life Rescue (BDMLR) rescued a common dolphin stranded in Mawgan Creek, in Cornwall’s Helford Estuary in England. A local builder had supported it at the water’s edge for three hours before they arrived. A family’s boat then carried it more than three miles to Fal Bay, where it was released and swam off strongly.¹

A creek that catches dolphins

BDMLR’s hotline got the call at about 8:20 that Monday morning. BDMLR describes the area as a well-known strandings trap for dolphins, because of its many tidal, muddy creeks. Cornwall Area Coordinator Dan Jarvis led a team of Marine Mammal Medics to the scene.¹

Getting there was its own obstacle course. The dolphin lay about 100 meters from the nearest access point, and reaching it meant climbing over or ducking under fallen trees along the riverbank.¹

The builder who found the dolphin and reported it had been supporting it at the water’s edge for three hours by then. The medics took over from there.¹²

A checkup on the mud

Natalie Waddington, BDMLR’s veterinary support coordinator, examined the dolphin. It was just under 2 meters long, in moderate nutritional condition, and carried several old injuries that had already healed. A cut above one eye was bleeding slightly, but the eye itself was judged undamaged.¹

Related: His Birthday Plans Did Not Include Keeping a Dolphin Damp for Nearly 6 Hours

The patient was not shy about it. “The animal was very responsive and vocal throughout,” Jarvis said in remarks carried by PA Media.³

Before it left, the team marked its dorsal fin, the tall fin on its back, with three orange stripes. That way it could be identified if anyone saw it again or if it stranded a second time.¹

Why a boat, and whose boat

Simply letting it go in the creek was risky, because high tide had just peaked and the dolphin could strand again. Driving it out was not practical either, thanks to the fallen trees and deep, sinking mud.¹

“It was now a race against time and tide,” Jarvis said, according to PA Media.³

A boat was the best option, and a family out for a walk offered theirs. BDMLR names Rodney Thomas, Lyndsey Thomas and Matt Small as the boat’s owners and crew.¹²

The dolphin rode on boards padded with a tarpaulin and stretcher, with medics supporting it and a sheet over its back to stop it drying out. Four team members went along with the skipper.¹

Three miles at a slow pace

Mawgan Creek is more than three miles from the open sea. The boat kept to a slow speed the whole way to minimize stress to the animal.¹³

BDMLR described the whole effort as a five-hour rescue operation, and ITV Westcountry and PA Media reported it under that description the next day.¹²³

South of Rosemullion Head, facing Fal Bay, the team put the dolphin overboard in its stretcher. They supported it for a few minutes until it showed it wanted to swim, then released it.¹

It swam strongly, first back toward the estuary, then across to the estuary’s southern side. The team followed at a distance and last saw it heading back out to sea strongly.¹