Why are so many dolphins beaching themselves on Cape Cod?
| Wellfleet, Mass.
There's no good spot on Cape Cod for聽dolphins聽to continue this winter's massive and unexplained beachings, but a group of 11 has chosen one of the worst.
The remote inlet is a place where the tides recede fast and far, and that's left the animals mired in a grayish-brown mud.
Walking is the only way to reach the animals, but it's not easy. The muck that releases a footstep only after a sucking pop. One rescue volunteer hits a thigh-deep "hole" and tumbles.
One聽dolphin聽is dead, but the other 10 appear healthy, and some thump their tails in the shallows, struggling to move. Rescuers decide the best course is to wait for the incoming tide to free the聽dolphins, then boats can try to herd them out of trouble. The only alternative is hauling them to a waiting trailer, and open water. But the trailer is nearly a mile (1.6 kilometers) away.
Waiting has risks.聽Dolphins聽can't survive long on land, and there's no guarantee the boats can push the dolphins聽on to safety.
"Now's where we start crossing our fingers," said Brian Sharp of the International Fund for Animal Welfare.
A year ago, Tuesday's 11 stranded聽dolphins聽would have seemed remarkable.
But in the last month, 177 short-beaked common聽dolphins聽have stranded on Cape Cod, and 124 have died.
So far, there's no explanation.
Workers at the IFAW, which has led the rescue efforts, tag and take blood samples of the stranded animals, necropsies have been done on dead聽dolphins聽and a Congressional briefing was held early this month in the push for answers. But researchers can offer only theories about things such as changes in weather, water temperature or behavior of the聽dolphins' prey.
Geography may also play a role, if the聽dolphins聽are getting lost along the Cape's jagged inner coastline.
Rescuers work in pairs to move the聽dolphins聽on slings, bringing them closer together and pointing the right way.
"We'll take advantage of the fact that they're social animals," said Kerry Branon, an IFAW spokeswoman. "We're hoping if we release them together, they'll stick together."
Not all the聽dolphins聽are on board, though. One drifts off to the left, where he could beach again. The manager of the stranding team, Katie Moore, slides over, grabs its dorsal fin, and gives it a push in the right direction.
"You're going the wrong way, buddy," she says.
The inlet continues to fill and the聽dolphins聽break into waters that are deeper than the rescuers can follow on foot. They take boats. The noise from the motors pushes the聽dolphins聽ahead. So do acoustic pingers, devices that make a sound that annoys the聽dolphins.
From here, all the shore workers can do is await word from the boats, which will follow the聽dolphins聽until dark, if needed.
Volunteer Mike Giblin, muck still on his face, sits in his truck and explains why, at 64, he can't wait to get an early morning call to help the聽dolphins. The animals are special, he says.
Moore later smiles at the thought, but dismisses any mystical link with the animals.
"They're wild animals," she says. "This is not comforting for them. They don't want to be touched."
She's been encouraged by IFAW's success so far in getting聽dolphins聽back to sea. She also believes in the work.
"I think that as humans we have such a huge impact on the ocean environment and on these animals in other ways, that this is our opportunity to do the right thing."
The聽dolphins聽would all eventually reach the bay.
