The 11 foot long female (3.3 metres) Risso’s dolphin was found on Feb. 20 of last week on a beach on Graham Island in Haida Gwaii by two local residents. Necropsy test results released on Monday were unable to pinpoint a cause of her death.
She was already deceased when found and more tests on her blubber and organs are being done to attempt to determine cause of death and other information.
While more often found in warmer waters in many parts of the world, the grey, stocky-bodied dolphin with a rounded snout can normally survive in colder waters. Researchers from the Vancouver Aquarium, Department of Fisheries and Oceans and B.C. Cetacean Sightings Network have all been involved in the recovery of the body and on conducting tests on it.
“Marine mammals act as sentinels for our oceans,” Caitlin Birdsall of the Cetacean Sightings Network told the CBC News. “Not only does a necropsy and sample collection help us understand the individual’s health, but it also provides information about the health of the marine environment.”
There were two other recent unique finds in B.C. waters. Guadalope fur seals and green sea turtles are also not often seen in local waters but one of each was recently discovered on B.C. beaches; both were alive but in poor shape. The fur seal has since died but the turtle survived and is doing well at the Vancouver aquarium.
The skeleton of the deceased Risso’s dolphin will eventually be put on display at a site on Graham Island. It’s not known why the cetacean made its way so far north.
