Dolphin washes ashore in Phang Nga

PHUKET: A female spinner dolphin has been taken to the Phuket Marine Biological Center (PMBC) after it was found beached in Phang Nga yesterday morning.

At about 8:30am, officers from the PMBC Endangered Species Unit received a call from locals that the marine mammal washed ashore at Ban Tha Noon Beach.

When officers arrived, they found villagers holding the dolphin in the water, as it was exhausted and unable to swim.

Initial examinations revealed no external wounds.

“We believe that the dolphin got stranded near the shore because of the strong monsoon weather. She was too weak to continue to swim,” said Kongkiat Kittiwattanawong, head of the Marine Endangered Species Unit at the PMBC.

PMBC workers, along with Kusoldharm rescue workers, transferred the mammal to PMBC to administer tests.

“She has been put on antibiotics and we are checking her blood to see if she has any infections,” Dr Kongkiat said. “Normally, dolphins tend to hide pain, as it is a defense mechanism so they won’t be hunted, because of this, the testing will take a little longer.”

PMBC workers believe it will take at least two weeks for the dolphin to recover and be released back into the wild.

— Kritsada Mueanhawong