WATCH: “Confused” dolphin washes up on Willard Beach – Ballito

An adult dolphin believed to have been disoriented after being caught in a wave, died after washing onto Willard Beach this morning.

According to KwaDukuza lifeguard Sandile Msimango the dolphin was alive for a few minutes after it had washed up.

Also read: Dead whale calf washed ashore at Blythedale

“A woman who works at the shop nearby told us about the dolphin. We rushed over and found that the animal was still breathing. We carried it back into the water but we noticed that it could not swim and it washed back to the shore where it died a few minutes later,” he said,

Specialised Rescue Unit (SRU) transported the animal to KZN Wildlife where it will undergo a postmortem.

SRU’s  Quentin Power said there has been an increase in the number of dolphins and whales washing up on KZN shores recently.

He said he believed the increase could be caused by the disruption of one of the seismic survey vessels off the KZN coast for the exploration of oil and gas. This would only be proven by further scientific research.

“I suspect that this dolphin was caught in a rogue wave. I think it might have been panicked and swam in the wrong direction.

“We cannot yet confirm the age but we can say that it was an adult. We are also suspecting that these creatures guidance mechanisms are being thrown out of sync by the seismic surveys as the marine vessel is using intense sound waves which are believed to create a vibration that is harmful to marine creatures,” said Power.

Seismic surveys for oil and gas are currently being carried out by the Italian company Eni off the South Coast. The Norwegian research vessel “Dr Fridtjof Nansen” featured in the Courier recently is not using seismic equipment for its surveys, now underway on the North Coast.

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