End of March 2020 one of our newborn dolphin calves became entangled in a mass of fishing line, hooks and rope.
The young guys who reported it to us had been out diving and were able to remove a vast amount of the marine debris from the calf, but metres of line was still tangled around both pectoral fins, underneath all the way back to the tail and then dragging along about 2 metres behind. Mum Calypso is well known to us, the calf, Reggae, was actually born beside our Eco Cruise boat in January. After observing we had an opportunity to entice the Mum to shore and grab the line dragging behind the calf. We worked quickly to remove the line that was already cutting into the tail, cut away all the remaining hooks and line, checked her injuries, and our volunteer vet administered an antibiotic injection. The whole time Calypso and Reggae were calling to each other, and other dolphins responded to these calls and arrived too. It was a beautiful moment to return Reggae to her Mum and see them swim off together.
We would like to thank our fantastic team of staff and volunteers for being committed and passionate about the conservation of our dolphins and the marine environment, and Harradine & Associates Vets for their support of the work we do.