Another Mandurah dolphin found dead after suffering severe sunburn amid dramatic drop in tide
A dramatic drop in tide last Saturday killed a young dolphin and left two others stranded in Mandurah waterways; This has highlighted concerns about increasing pressure on the region’s dolphin population.
A dolphin known locally as LouLou was found dead after being stranded; This is the fourth death of a Mandurah dolphin due to stranding or entanglement in the past three months.
Estuary Keepers Mandurah reported that LouLou, who is not yet three years old, had his tail tangled in marine debris around him, possibly limiting his ability to swim.
More recently LouLou was one of two dolphins observed in Mandurah suffering from fresh and severe sunburn. His injuries were reported to be the most extensive.
It is believed he may have succumbed to infection or sepsis due to extensive burns on his back, or possibly become trapped again.
“He suffered on both occasions,” a spokesperson for Estuary Wardens Mandurah said in a recent Facebook post about the strandings.
Resources or funds were not available to quickly recover his body for autopsy, the spokesperson said; This could provide vital information about his death, the spokesman said.
Estuary Keepers Mandurah said the area was a known dolphin stranding hotspot and the State Government was not providing resources to address the problem.
“Dolphins will be increasingly affected by our growing population, increased boat travel, increased water pollution and climate change,” the spokesman said.
“We are asking the State Government to address this known issue by providing its staff with some vital missing equipment and upgrading the lenses on surveillance cameras so more area can be covered.”
In November last year, Mandurah Cruises committed $50,000 to the Mandurah Dolphin Research Project, supporting live stranding research that is common in Mandurah’s bottlenose population.
The project aims to contribute to improving the early detection of stranded livestock and ensuring appropriate and timely rescue intervention.
As part of the research collaboration, research leader Krista Nicholson will provide crew training and blog posts that will be shared on Mandurah Cruises’ tours and website.
A spokesman for the Mandurah Dolphin Research Project said: “If you stay away from dolphins, don’t boat or ski on them, take your rubbish home and appreciate how lucky we are, we applaud you.”
“It’s important and it helps. These are little things we can all do to make life a little easier for these wild dolphins living among us.”
“Vale, Lou Lou. We were born in dangerous waters, we were both confused and stranded in your short life, we are sorry.”
