Cape Town - Sea rescuers had their hands full this morning after two bottle nose dolphins were found beached at Sandy Bay, near Llandudno.
While the dolphins were still alive, an eyewitness reported that the two dolphins seemed to be in distress and required urgent assistance.
During initial assessments by authorities, the National Sea Rescue Institute (NSRI) Bakoven deputy station commander, David Rosenberg, said that while they were glad to have found the dolphins alive, the plan was to transport the dolphins out to sea in the hopes of releasing them at sea or to swim the dolphins through the surf in the hopes of corralling them out to sea.
"The services on the scene carried the dolphins into the surf, using specialised stretchers, where the dolphins floated. They were apart at that stage and the members that were on the scene, in a joint effort, brought the two dolphins together by carrying them to a suitable place in the shallow surf where they floated together.
"NSRI rescue swimmers, from NSRI Hout Bay and NSRI Bakoven, assisted by a Marine and Coastal Management officer, corralled both of the dolphins through the surf line, swimming them to deeper water, and at the backline breakers, the dolphins were released into deeper water.
"Our NSRI Bakoven rescue craft, Gemini Legend, followed the dolphins for a while, and as they headed in the direction of Hout Bay, the dolphins appeared to be healthy and swimming strongly," said Rosenberg.
Cape of Good Hope SPCA chief inspector Jaco Pieterse said that had everyone not intervened, the dolphins would have died on the beach.
"While the reason for the dolphins' being stranded on the beach remains unknown at this stage, teamwork definitely paid off as the rescuers kept the dolphins wet, comfortable, and upright until they could be returned to the water with the assistance of the NSRI, which dispatched one of its boats in support of the rescue mission.
"More than 10 people had to help move the heavy dolphins into the sea on stretchers. We were elated and relieved that the rescue was successful. We are grateful to everyone who pitched in. We’ll monitor the area as a precaution in case they beach again, and onlookers should keep their distance and call the authorities if anything like this happens again. The SPCA has a dedicated wildlife division that deals with all kinds of wildlife emergencies," said Pieterse.