A Camden Haven resident initially mistook a stranded dolphin for a tree log when he came across it recently on a sand spit at Queens Lake.
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Phillip English had been out fishing on his boat with his son Andrew and grandson James, who were visiting from Singleton.
“We went across to take a closer look and discovered it was a dolphin stranded on the sand bar,” he said.
“It had obviously been there for some time, as the top of its skin had dried out.”
When Mr English and his son first approached the dolphin he said it ‘seemed to panic’. However it calmed down once Andrew splashed some water on it.
Mr English said the dolphin had been struggling to get off the sand for some time because it had created a wash hole in the sand at its tail and head.
Mr English’s grandson James thought the dolphin was a shark and it took some convincing to change his mind.
Unfortunately Mr English said there were no other boats around to help.
“So while I looked after my grandson, Andrew moved the dolphin step by step across to deeper water,” he said.
“It took some time as the dolphin was very heavy.
“Then with one flick of the tail the dolphin swam away.”
If people come across stranded marine mammals they are advised to contact the Organisation for the Rescue and Research of Cetaceans in Australia (ORRCA) on 9415 3333.
