November 22, 2024

WATCH: Volunteers Form Human Chain to Rescue Dolphins Trapped In Florida Canal

September 19, 2019 Featured Comments Off

darin-ashby-fbYOwksnZak-unsplash — Photo by darin ashby on Unsplash

A group of four dolphins that were trapped in a St. Petersburg neighborhood canal since Sunday were was rescued Tuesday after volunteers formed a human chain to help free them.

Andy Garrett, a biologist with the Florida Fish Wildlife Conservation Commission said keeping the chain together is how they were able to save them. Dolphins use echolocation to navigate in the water. Emitting high-frequency sounds, dolphins interpret the echoes of sound waves that bounce off of objects to find their way around. Experts say most likely the height and sound of a bridge nearby acted as a barrier to the dolphins making it hard for the dolphins, including two calves, to find their way out.

Florida Wildlife Conservation officials were first contacted Sunday, however the dolphins did not appear distressed so they waited to see if they would make their way out with the tide, but after a day passes and they were still there they came up with a plan.

A rescue team worked with the Clearwater Marine Aquarium as well as the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to wade into the canal, form a human chain and guide the dolphins out. Over 45 minutes the rescuers used sounds and vibrations to direct the dolphins into Riviera Bay.

This story ends happily ever after, everything went as planned and no nets or anything that would have stressed the dolphins was used.

The Clearwater Marine Aquarium would like to remind you that the rescue was conducted under the authority of Section 109h of the Marine Mammal Protection Act and executed by authorized and trained personnel. Attempting the same behavior in the wild is illegal under the MMPA (www.nmfs.noaa.gov/pr/laws/mmpa) and can result in serious harm to both humans and animals.

[h/t cnn]