A dead dolphin was found on the beach in Pass Christian on Wednesday morning, according to the Institute for Marine Mammal Studies (IMMS), who respond to dolphin stranding calls.
The dolphin was found by Perry Mason Pezzarossi, a retired military service member who lives in Pass Christian, around 7:30 a.m. while on his daily morning walk along the beach.
“I thought something looks really weird about this, it took me a minute to figure out what it was and I said, ‘Oh my gosh, it’s a baby dolphin.’ It was something that I had never seen here before.” Pezzarossi told the Sun Herald.
IMMS Stranding Technician Kellie Austin responded to the call and said the dolphin was a baby, likely stillborn or only a few days old, and had probably been dead for a few days.
“There were no obvious external injuries [on the dolphin],” Austin said. “We’ll have to do a necropsy to look further )into how the dolphin died).”
Unfortunately this is not uncommon, as the dolphin is the first to wash up on shore during this year’s stranding season — a time beginning around January or February through the spring where dolphins breed in the shallower waters of the Mississippi Sound and sometimes end up stranded or dead on shore.
In a typical stranding season, the Mississippi Coast could see around 50 to 60 dolphins stranded on shore, IMMS Director Moby Solangi said.
Solangi thinks the recent cold weather and storms could have possibly affected the dolphin.
“Dolphins are a good biological indicator of the environment; if they are doing good then the environment is likely doing good,” Solangi said.
The Mississippi Sound has the largest dolphin population in the United States, Solangi said.
If you see a dolphin stranded on shore, either live or dead, it’s imperative that you call IMMS right away at 1-888-767-3657 so they can respond.
The IMMS website advises not to touch a stranded dolphin as it may be sick or carrying infectious diseases.
___
(c) 2023 The Sun Herald
Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
