16 Dolphins Rescued Off Cape Cod

WELLFLEET, MA — A mass dolphin stranding off Cape Cod last week had a happy resolution. Rescuers with the International Fund for Animal Welfare said they saved 16 dolphins trapped mud flats with the tide receding. The rescue happened Thursday in Wellfleet, which is a "global hotspot" for dolphin and whale strandings, the welfare group said.

"With the capacity of a full team and many volunteers responding, our team moved each dolphin from the mud flats on a stretcher using our specially designed dolphin cart," the welfare group said in a statement. "They were staged on the beach to be triaged and prepared for transport to Herring Cove Beach in Provincetown for release into open water."

The dolphins are the Atlantic white-sided species. The welfare group said the high number of dolphins was a record for the group in that area.

"We had great teamwork from our colleagues at the Center for Coastal Studies," the welfare group said. "We are also very grateful to the National Park Service for assistance at the release site and to the Chequessett Neck Yacht Club for allowing us to stage the response from their property. The public at both the stranding site and release site were incredibly helpful and supportive, and we can’t thank them and our wonderful volunteers enough."

The IFAW's Marine Mammal Rescue and Research team — originally called the Cape Cod Stranding Network — has worked on Cape Cod and southeastern Massachusetts since 1998 and says it has completed over 4,000 rescue missions.

Photo: International Fund for Animal Welfare