Mayo community comes together to rescue stranded dolphins

A north Mayo community came together on Mother's Day to help two stranded common dolphins in Carn, Belmullet, on the Mullet Peninsula.

The peninsula is one of Ireland’s key hotspots for live stranding of pelagic common dolphins, along with Cloghane in Co. Kerry, the Mayo branch of the Irish Whale and Dolphin Group report.

Mayo IWDG, on its social media, explained how the dolphins were kept cool and calm while awaiting help. The IWDG live stranding coordinator - based locally - borrowed a trailer, packed it with equipment, and headed straight to the scene.

With the tide still going out and the risk of re-stranding high in that area, a decision was made to transport the adult and juvenile dolphin by road to Port Mór, at the southwest tip of the peninsula, giving them immediate access to deep, open water, and sheltered from the heavy swell.

Mayo IWDG thanked everyone who helped with the rescue and refloat.

The mission saw the first use of the group's new soft rescue stretchers. And they are also trying to raise funds for a rescue trailer for the area, ready packed with equipment so volunteers can quickly respond to live strandings in the Erris area.

The group is also raising fund for a research project with University College Dublin to study the health of live stranded dolphins by collecting blow samples from those unfortunate enough to be on the shore.