13 March 2006
Dolphins found dead in County Down
Two dolphins rescued after beaching in County Down on Friday, have died.
The mammals were spotted swimming close to the shore on Friday afternoon by a local resident and were later found beached on the shores of Carlingford Lough.
Staff from the Environment and Heritage Service, and the Exploris Aquarium at Portaferry working together managed to get the animals back into deeper water.
However, on Saturday, one of the animals was found dead near Killowen having rebeached and the other was found later on the other side of the lough, near Omeath.
The remains of the dolphins have been removed by the Environment and Heritage Department of the DOE for a post mortem examination.
The EHS have said that the striped dolphins were an open sea species and it was very rare for such animals to swim into inland waters.
http://www.4ni.co.uk/industrynews.asp?id=49559
Dolphins found dead in County Down
Two dolphins rescued after beaching in County Down on Friday, have died.
The mammals were spotted swimming close to the shore on Friday afternoon by a local resident and were later found beached on the shores of Carlingford Lough.
Staff from the Environment and Heritage Service, and the Exploris Aquarium at Portaferry working together managed to get the animals back into deeper water.
However, on Saturday, one of the animals was found dead near Killowen having rebeached and the other was found later on the other side of the lough, near Omeath.
The remains of the dolphins have been removed by the Environment and Heritage Department of the DOE for a post mortem examination.
The EHS have said that the striped dolphins were an open sea species and it was very rare for such animals to swim into inland waters.
http://www.4ni.co.uk/industrynews.asp?id=49559