Rescue attempt of beached dolphin in the Hamptons falls short

Marine police were unable to save a thrashing beached dolphin on an Amagansett beach Friday morning, despite an intense rescue effort.

A local resident walking along Albert’s Landing Beach before dawn spotted the female Risso’s dolphin struggling in shallow water near a sandbar, The East Hampton Star reported. Two hours later, the dolphin remained in the same spot, prompting the man to call East Hampton Town Police, and subsequently a response from Marine Patrol officers with the DEC and the New York Marine Rescue Center.

Rescuers found the 10-foot dolphin severely underweight and bleeding. With help from state environmental officers, they carried the marine mammal up the beach to a response truck, but she did not survive.

Maxine Montello, executive director of the rescue center, said that while their goal is always to return stranded animals to the wild, some have been too compromised.

“The best thing we could do was get it out of the water and make sure it wasn’t rolling around in the tide,” she told The East Hampton Star.

Taken for necropsy

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The deceased dolphin was taken to the East Hampton transfer station for a necropsy by the Atlantic Marine Conservation Society. Findings could provide insight into the species’ health and presence in local waters.

Risso’s dolphins are much larger than the bottlenose dolphin more commonly seen closer to shore on Long Island. Risso’s dolphins typically stay in deeper offshore waters. Montello noted that when they appear close to shore, it can be a signal of distress.

“A lot of animals that strand in New York have evidence of human interaction: entanglement with fishing gear, vessel strikes, ingestion of marine debris,” she said.

_{Photos: Courtesy of the New York Marine Rescue Center.}