Dolphin Stranded in Diascund Creek

By Sam Thrift Friday, September 02, 2011

Hurricane Irene blew through James City County last Saturday bringing residences around Diascund Creek more than rain and issues with their power.

The increased water levels may have led a healthy bottlenose dolphin to the creek off of the Chickahominy River, an uncommon place for the mammal.

Initial efforts by five Stranding Response Team members from the Virginia Aquarium & Marine Science Center to herd the animal south down the creek just beyond the Diascund Creek Reservoir have been unsuccessful.

The team, with permission from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), deployed a Zodiac watercraft to try to guide the six-to-eight foot dolphin out of the area, where he is believed to have been swimming for the past three days.

The Virginia Aquarium staff continue to monitor the dolphin’s condition, but hope the animal will naturally find its way to deeper waters. If necessary, another attempt at herding may be made.

The animal is not trapped and is healthy. The aquarium team assessed the animal’s condition by observing behavior from kayaks for several hours. “The dolphin is still free to swim and exhibiting typical dolphin behaviors,” the Aquarium said in a press release. “It is breathing normally and possibly even feeding, all key elements to the general good condition of the wild animal.”

Virginia Aquarium PR Manager Joan Barns said anyone who may come across the animal must not feed it and should leave it alone.

Bottlenose dolphins are protected under the Federal Marine Mammals Protection Act, making it illegal to feed or harass dolphins. Any kind of human attention by land or boat further stresses the animal and it may cause it to go further up the river, jeopardizing the survival of the animal.

Citizens can report violations of this law by calling 1-800-853-1964.