New York dolphin rescue bid to resume
NEW YORK - Rescuers are set to resume their attempts to save about six dolphins stranded in a shallow cove off New York’s Long Island coast.
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A pod of about 20 common dolphins swam into the cove north of East Hampton at high tide about a week ago. Nine were guided to safety this week but another six have died. Environmentalists will use high frequency sound generators and a flotilla of small boats to try to herd the survivors out to Gardiner’s Bay.
The BBC’s Jeremy Cooke in New York says Thursday’s effort may represent a last chance. The trapped dolphins have not eaten properly for days and they are growing increasingly weak, he says. The cove has a narrow inlet and the dolphins are confused by the shallow water.
The mammals may have chased herring or other food sources when they came into the cove, analysts say. Choppy waters have made rescue efforts difficult and environmentalists hope they will subside on Thursday.
Strandings of dolphins are not uncommon but usually happen further north, including at Cape Cod in Massachusetts, USA.
Tony LaCasse, of the New England Aquarium, said: „We have a mass stranding or two every winter; last year there were over eight. Dolphins are extremely social and can panic just the way people panic.”
Common, or white-sided, dolphins normally stay 30-80 miles (50-130km) offshore. (RD)
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