Striped dolphin washed up on Kamala beach

A weak striped dolphin has been washed up on Kamala beach this morning.

Rescue workers were notified that the dolphin was found on Kamala Beach near a public park early this morning (June 7). Rescue workers immediately informed officials at the Phuket Marine Endangered Species Unit.

Kamala rescue worker Kriengsak Boonlang says, “Locals, tourists and rescue workers were helping to support the dolphin in the water. A big wave washed the dolphin ten metres away from the shore whilst we were trying to assist. We jumped into a boat to fetch the dolphin back.”

“The dolphin was weak and nervous. It took about two hours to take the dolphin carefully from the water and get it into the back of the pickup truck for transportation to a centre for care and rehabilitation.”

Officials say the stripe dolphin is 15-20 years of age and weighed 70 kilograms and two metres long. Scrtaches were found on the dolphin. Veterinarians are now taking care of the dolphin and have conducted blood tests amongst other investigations.

PHOTOS: Kamala Rescue workers

WIKIPEDIA: The striped dolphin is one of five species traditionally included in the genus Stenella; however, recent genetic work by LeDuc et al.(1999) indicates Stenella, as traditionally conceived, is not a natural group. According to that study, the closest relatives of the striped dolphin are the Clymene dolphin, the common dolphins, the Atlantic spotted dolphin, and “Tursiops” aduncus, which was formerly considered a subspecies of the bottlenose dolphin. The striped dolphin was described by Franz Meyen in 1833. The specific name coeruleoalba (from Latin caeruleus ‘dark blue’ and albus ‘white’) refers to the characteristic blue and white stripes on the flanks.