MARINE mammal rescuers free on June 22 a female spinner dolphin apparently trapped in the shallow waters along the coast of barangay Bahi, in Alburquerque town. Rescuers led by Dr. Alessandro Ponzo of Physalus and members of the Bohol Rescue Unit for Marine Mammals theorized that strong waves spawned by storm Falcon must have separated the juvenile female spinner dolphin from the pod and forced it to knee-deep shallows. It was a highway maintenance team from the Department of Public Works and Highways who first saw the dolphin swimming in the shallows at around 10:00 A.M. and they reported it to Bahi barangay captain. The village chair, Alfredo Agonia Sr. immediately called Alburquerque police and volunteers to effect a rescue.

Village fisherman Bonifacio Payusan and seaborne patrol member Victor Balo coordinated immediate rescue efforts which include guiding the dolphin into deeper waters and treating wounds with betadine antiseptic, which they initially believed as gunshot wound or harpoon piercing. The two wounds, superficial lesions, according to veterinarian Dr. Ponzo could have been caused by cookie-cutter sharks. “She was chubby and is swimming well, Dr. Ponzo said, adding that based on the position of the puncture wounds, and if there were caused by gunshots or harpoon, “it could have reached the animal’s lungs affecting the dolphin’s swimming.” Ponzo, who heads a non government organization helps promote the protection of the environment with an emphasis on marine habitat protection through educating coastal communities by letting them understand their ecosystems said water getting into the animal’s lungs could make her swim on her side. Aside from minor belly scratches, perhaps caused by swimming in the shallows, the wounded dolphin was swimming upright.

Several attempts of guiding the dolphin to the deep proved futile. “The waves produce too much noise that this could have disrupted the dolphin’s echolocation so she could not find her way,” Ponzo said. After about six hours of guiding the animal to deeper waters and making her comfortable, the animal swam away, not before making a flash of tail before diving among the company of larger fish, reports a visibly elated Dr. Ponzo who has not slipped out of his wetsuit since 1 PM. Asked what are the chances of survival, the veterinarian said it was a chubby dolphin and swims upright, indications that it was not sick, so he said there’s about 80-90 percent chance she can survive. Rescuers did a visual survey of the coastlines an hour after the dolphin swam out but found no traces of another beaching. (Rey Anthony Chiu)