The latest victim in a string of dolphin deaths was found dead Sunday in Fort Morgan, Ala., and brought to Northwest Florida on Monday.
According to the Alabama Marine Mammal Stranding Network, a fisherman in Fort Morgan, Ala., found the bottlenose dolphin Sunday with a severe head injury that appears to have been caused by a gunshot.
Members of both rescue agencies assessed the dolphin at the Emerald Coast Wildlife Refuge on Okaloosa Island before bringing it to a local veterinarian for X-rays and further research. Investigators were measuring the dolphin and the hole in its head, which looked to be about 4 inches across.
“We won’t know for some time what exactly killed this animal,” said Steve Shippee with the wildlife refuge. Shippee said that with only one wound on the animal and no bullet or pellets found yet, a definitive answer may take weeks or months.
The dolphin appeared to be relatively healthy otherwise — a full-grown male, about 480 pounds, about 8½ feet long — “in the prime of his life,” according to Shippee.
Sources say there has been an unusually high mortality rate of bottlenose dolphins along the Gulf Coast since 2010. Shippee said there have been about 700 dolphin deaths since then. Typically, he said, they see only about 100 each year.
A handful of the deaths have involved mutilated dolphins missing appendages on beaches in Alabama and Louisiana. Some of the cases have been especially heinous, according to marine wildlife experts, who’ve seen everything from homemade pipe bombs, gunshot wounds, and a screwdriver stuck in the head of a dolphin. Those cases have captured headlines nationwide.
If you encounter an injured or dead dolphin, contact the Emerald Coast Wildlife Refuge at 850-650-1880 or the Alabama Marine Mammal Stranding Network at 877-WELL-HELP.
Destin Log Jessica Coker can be reached at 850-654-8464 or Jcoker@thedestinlog.com. Follow her on Twitter @DestinLogJess.