Animal rescuers save 10 dolphins stranded along shoreline

By: The Associated Press/ABC6 News 

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DUXBURY, Mass. — Animal rescuers have saved 10 of 12 dolphins that were stranded along the shoreline in beaches in Barnstable and Duxbury.

Crews from New England Aquarium and International Fund for Animal Welfare teamed up to save the dolphins that had washed ashore between Duxbury and Barnstable around 5 p.m. Sunday.

The low tide is to blame for stranding the dolphins. Six dolphins were able to get back into the water as the tide rose.

Rescuers managed to help two others return to deeper water, but two died.

“When we arrived, the adult, which is a female, it’s the mother most likely of the calf that she was with. She was relatively stressed out, I’m sure some behaviors of being stressed, obviously being stranded in the mud, tidal flats, and the calf looks quite good, and then once we assessed them more and administered some treatments, they definitely both rebounded quite a bit.”

A spokesman for the New England Aquarium says rescuers did not have time to examine the animals because of the urgency required to get them back into the water.

International Fund for Animal Welfare officials say a team collected and released another two dolphins found stranded in Barnstable around 4:30 p.m. The dolphins were healthy.

Officials say the IFAW has rescued a total of 152 stranded animals this year.

Rescuers said it is not uncommon for dolphins to get stuck in the beaches in early spring.

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