Back on Friday, February 14th, NYS Environmental Conservation Officers (ECOs) Holliday, McGhee, Seabury, and Simmons responded to reports of a stranded Risso’s dolphin (Grampus griseus) on Little Albert’s Landing Beach in East Hampton, in Suffolk County on Long Island.
The ECOs, with assistance from members of the New York Marine Rescue Center, moved the dolphin for evaluation. The dolphin died soon after being moved.
Risso’s dolphins are found nearly worldwide, from cold and temperate to tropical waters. Their preferred environment is just off the continental shelf, on steep banks, with water depths varying from 1,300 to 3,300 feet and water temperatures at least 50 degrees Fahrenheit (preferably 59–68 °F).
They have been recorded diving to depths of up to 2,000 feet in pursuit of prey.
A necropsy conducted by the Atlantic State Marine Conservation Society indicated the stranded adult male dolphin had succumbed to a possible viral infection and a parasitic infection in its lungs and liver.
The dolphin’s worn teeth and scarring on its 9.5-foot carcass also indicated the mammal was likely older, emaciated, and had no presence of food in its digestive tract.
Marine animals tend to strand on shore as they approach the end of life.
To report a marine mammal that appears sick or injured contact the New York Stranding Hotline at (631) 369-9829.
Read more dolphins in New York State here.
Photo: ECOs and members of New York Marine Rescue Center move the dolphin found stranded in Suffolk County (provided by DEC).
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