Dolphin rescued at Nai Harn Beach
NAI HARN: Villagers at Nai Harn Beach found two striped dolphins trapped in shallow waters this morning. One dolphin was lying on the beach in obvious distress. Its body was covered with wounds from scraping on the rocks. The other dolphin was swimming in shallow water nearby. The villagers contacted a biologist at the Phuket Marine Biological Center (PMBC), Kongkiet Kittiratanawong, who sent a marine rescue team to save the dolphins. The injured dolphin was transported to the PMBC for treatment and will be released back into the sea after it has recovered. The other dolphin, after swimming in the area awhile, swam out to sea on its own. “The monsoon winds this time of year create high waves, making it difficult for dolphins to get air through their blowholes. They are forced to swim to shallow areas for relief, sometimes injuring or beaching themselves in the process,” said K. Kongkiet. This is the third time since February that a dolphin has been rescued in southern Thailand, and the first time that striped dolphins have been found in shallow waters. Only two species are found in the southwest of Thailand: the striped dolphin and the bottle-nosed dolphin.
