Lee Glendinning, The Guardian 9 Jun 08;
At least 18 dolphins have died and scores more remain stranded after swimming up a river in Cornwall, in what rescuers called the biggest mass stranding of marine life for 27 years.
Coastguards were alerted at 8.30am today after a visitor at a nearby guesthouse noticed a flailing dolphin that appeared to have beached itself in Porth Creek, near Falmouth.
When they arrived to launch a rescue operation, many more dolphins had become stranded. It is thought the first dolphin may have sent out a distress signal that lured the others up the river Percuil.
"Initially, one swam up and got disoriented in shallow water," said Neil Oliver, from the Falmouth coastguard. "It put out a distress call and it looks as though the others have followed and thought 'We'll find out what's going on'.''
Divers, the fire brigade, conservationists and lifeboats were taking part in the rescue mission.
Tony Woodley, the national spokesman for British Divers Marine Life Rescue, said the charity would put all of its resources into the operation.
"We haven't seen a stranding anywhere near this scale since 1981 when pilot whales were beached on the east coast. This is extremely rare. We are warning people that many will die but we may be able to save some."
Dave Nicoll, a lifeboat helmsman, said: "It's a horrible scene of carnage with bodies everywhere, but we are doing our best to help and will continue to support the expert groups.
"We have been trying to help those who are alive and have already succeeded in getting five back into the water. We think the pod have been attracted by the cries for help from those that are stuck in the creek."
A spokeswoman for the RNLI said three volunteer lifeboat crew members had managed to help five dolphins back out to deeper water.
20 dolphins die after biggest mass stranding for 27 years
Richard Savill and Urmee Khan, The Telegraph 9 Jun 08;
More than 20 dolphins have died in a river creek in what has been described as the biggest mass stranding of marine animals in Britain for 27 years.
Rescuers called to Porth Creek, near Portscatho, on the Cornish coast, off Falmouth Bay, described a "scene of carnage" and warned that many more dolphins could be at risk.
The first pod of about 30 dolphins swam up the Percuil River and were beached in Porth Creek yesterday morning. It was thought the stranding could have been related to a low tide.
Rescuers said they believed that after first few dolphins got into trouble, their distress calls lured others into the river. Witnesses told of seeing the mammals tangled in debris and seaweed in shallow water, with their bellies out of the water. The bodies of others were stranded on the shore.
Teams of conservationists, divers, and coastguards were in a frantic race against time last night to send surviving dolphins back out to sea.
Liz Sandeman, director of operations at Marine Connection, a charity for the protection of dolphins, said that at least 80 dolphins had been drawn into Falmouth Bay away from their deep ocean habitat and that dozens were now at risk.
"This is certainly the biggest stranding since 1981 when we had pilot whales stranded," she said.
"So far about 21 are dead and the next 24 hours will be crucial in saving any more.
"Once these animals are out of the water they are too heavy and it puts huge pressure on their organs. They would basically be killing themselves by squashing themselves.
"We still don't know what why this has happened but some have already been sent for post-mortem examination so we should know soon."
One theory is that the first pod of dolphins may have been scared by something and swam up the Percuil river to hide. Another is that they were chasing fish.
Tony Woodley, of the British Divers Marine Life Rescue charity, said the species were striped dolphins which were not naturally a coastal breed. He said they were ocean going and had probably followed in fish who were feeding on a large algal bloom in the area.
Mr Woodley said: "Logistically a rescue like this is a minefield; it is very difficult to manage.
"You have to get all the dolphins together, if one or two leave the river system they will just come back to rejoin the main social group."
Striped dolphins are closely related to the common dolphin. They grow to about eight foot in length and are acrobatic. They travel in large groups of up to 100 individuals and prefer feeding on shoals of small, deep sea fish, as well as squid and octopus.
Charities reported that some common dolphins had since become embroiled in the stranding.
The British Divers Marine Life Rescue charity said: "We haven't seen a stranding anywhere near this scale since 1981 when pilot whales were beached on the east coast (of Britain). This is extremely rare."
Helmsman David Nicoll, from the Falmouth lifeboat, added: "It's a horrible scene of carnage with bodies everywhere, but we are doing our best to help and will continue to support the expert groups."
