Dolphin found dead in Hutchinson River 'had not eaten for some time'

It may take months to determine an official cause of death for the dolphin found dead Friday in the Hutchinson River.

A necropsy performed by the Atlantic Marine Conservation Society determined that the dolphin was an adult female, measuring 6.4 feet long and weighing approximately 250 pounds.

While an official cause of death will not be forthcoming for some time, there are indications that the dolphin was old and sick. Kimberly Durham, necropsy program coordinator for AMCS, called the animal a "geriatric dolphin," noting that "her teeth were all worn."

According to AMCS spokesperson Rachel Bosworth, the necropsy revealed lesions in the dolphin's kidney but no lesions in its brain tissue.

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“The GI tract was empty indicating that the dolphin had not eaten for some time,” Bosworth wrote in an email to The Journal News.

Durham, who conducted the necropsy on Saturday, identified the animal as a short-beaked common dolphin, which she said are "frequently seen this time of the year" in the open ocean.

"This particular species is not known to frequent creeks and smaller waterways," she said.

Mount Vernon Mayor Richard Thomas’ office issued a statement Sunday suggesting that pollution may have played a role in the dolphin’s death. He noted that a consent order issued in 2003 by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency demanded fixes to the city’s sewer system which feeds into the Hutchinson River.

Durham, however, said no marine debris was found in the dolphin’s carcass.

"There was no indication that any kind of pollution, per se, led to her being there or to her death," she said.

New York State Environmental Police first saw the animal alive in the Hutchinson River on Friday. It was later reported dead by passersby who spotted it from Glover Field in Pelham. Westchester County police spokesman Kieran O’Leary said Saturday that a winch was used to remove the dolphin's carcass from the water due to the animal’s size.

It was taken to a nearby recycling transfer station where the examination took place, Bosworth said. Samples were taken and sent to a pathologist to determine an official cause of death, but results of those tests are not expected for several months.

Dolphins and whales are occasionally seen in the Long Island Sound, drawn to shore by large schools of fish, Joseph Schnierlein, of the Maritime Aquarium in Norwalk, told The Journal News last year.

"You can see them in as little as 15 to 20 feet of water," he said. "They have not been shy about coming in close to shore."

Last year a humpback whale made its way up the Hudson River and, in 2013, a dolphin was spotted struggling in the Hudson off of Stony Point.

O’Leary said it was the first time he had heard about a dolphin in the Hutchinson River.

Durham said after 25 years working with marine life, this was the first time she had seen this type of dolphin so far from the open ocean.

"I don’t recall that we’ve ever had a dolphin in that particular situation at that location," she said.

AMCS is one of only two organizations in New York state approved by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to deal with cetacean and sea turtle strandings.

The statewide stranding hotline is 631-369-9829.