GALVESTON, Texas – A baby dolphin is in need of assistance in Galveston, according to a local nonprofit’s social media posting.
The Texas Marine Mammal Stranding Network said on Facebook that a dolphin calf was spotted with debris wrapped tightly around its neck.
“It looks like it’s starting to embed into the calf’s skin a bit and so really, at this point the calf is really young and it should be growing at a fast rate and so there’s not a lot of time for this animal,” said Heidi Whitehead the Executive Director at the Texas Marine Mammals Stranding Network.RK..
11/18 Dolphin calf update: TMMSN is so grateful for the community’s response. We had one sighting of the entangled...
Posted by Texas Marine Mammal Stranding Network on Tuesday, November 17, 2020
The group is looking for the public’s help to sight and report the dolphin so the debris can be removed by experts.
“We’ve been trying to narrow down some movement patterns for the young baby and his mom so we can hopefully formulate so sort of rescue effort,” said Whitehead.
Have you seen it? It was last spotted in the Galveston Ship Channel and previously in Galveston Bay. If you have seen the entangled dolphin, you can report it at 1-800-9MAMMAL (962-6625).
The Texas Marine Mammal Stranding Network urges people who sight the animal to collect a GPS location or photos/videos where possible, but do not attempt to approach or pursue the calf and keep a distance of at least 50 yards away from the dolphins in order to avoid stressing the animals.