In an interview, Dr
Renato Diocton felt exasperated that despite their efforts, the
dolphin died in the afternoon of
Monday
December 6, 2010, a
day after it was found stranded in the shallow waters of
Maqueda
Bay.
Diocton said he
suspected that it died of pneumonia because water may have seeped in
its blow hole. He added that in his recording of respiratory interval,
he sensed something was wrong. The dolphin too may have been starved
after being sick for a while and being unable to feed for itself as it
was injured due to blast fishing.
The dolphin’s
condition was aggravated by the handling of those who found it earlier
that its vertebral flippers were damaged.
Diocton felt sad that
people are still unaware of the delicate conditions dolphins maybe in
when they are dislocated in inhabited areas. “People should not try to
touch them unless there are authorities and experts who knew their
care and handling, “Diocton sighed.
On a happier note,
Diocton said that some Fishery authorities reported that one (of the
same specie) was found and revived in the shores of Villareal town, a
coastal municipality facing Maqueda Bay.
He suspects it could
have been a member of the ‘school’ where the unfortunate dolphin that
died, belong.
Another sad note
emerged too from Barangay Sugod, Zumarraga where a ‘pregnant’ dolphin
was found and butchered. The tuff (young or dolphin fetus) also died.
Diocton expressed
sadness that some people when they see big sea mammals immediately
equate them to food.
He added that several
sightings of these sea mammals have been reported. He sensed these
dolphins are disoriented and may have been looking for spawning
grounds. They may have been also lured in Maqueda Bay due to plentiful
pelagic fish (fish in the surface of the sea) that serve as their
food.
Diocton appealed to
his fellow Samarnons to inform authorities who know how to handle
these creatures. He also alluded to climate change as a reason that
may have pushed the dolphins into untreated grounds that proved
dangerous to their kind.
