The decision to euthanise a baby dolphin found stranded in the Peel Harvey Estuary on Saturday drew criticism from the public, but the Department of Parks and Wildlife (DPaW) has defended its actions.
“This dolphin was around two months old, which means it is 100 per cent dependent on mum, and needs to suckle every hour,” DPaW wildlife officer Matt Swan said.
Mr Swan said it was not possible to take the dolphin back out to the deep, or to hand-rear it.
“We know from our experience in DPaW that [taking it back out to the deep] is a gamble, and not a gamble we’re prepared to take… It usually results in the animal being washed up again later, in a spot where no-one will discover it, and it will flounder in the shallows for days and days,” he said.
With regards to raising it in captivity, Mr Swan posed the question, “to what end?”
“That’s not a good option for this animal, it’s not an option that is really viable or considered in WA,” he said.
“The best outcome for this animal is out in the wild, where it’s able to reproduce and contribute to the gene pool, and genetic diversity.
“It’s survival of the fittest, and this animal, for whatever reason, was selected against... we can’t save every single animal every single time.”
The calf was spotted at 6am on Saturday morning by photographer Andrew O’Connor, and monitored by volunteers from the Mandurah Dolphin Rescue Group, who reported the calf to DPaW.
“First responders were called upon, beautiful local people who always have time to help out,” Mr Swan said.
“Based on their advice, I became aware of the fact there were researchers from Murdoch University, also in the vicinity… as a result of the local knowledge from the first responders and the researchers, the decision was made to hold the animal and find its mum.”
At first the calf was thought to be one of four known calves, named Breeze by the Mandurah Dolphin Research Project researchers, so they set out looking for mother Sea.
The search ran into the night, and a makeshift pen was erected to keep the calf, with volunteers monitoring it in shifts.
However, eventually both Sea and Breeze were found, along with the other known calves, meaning the stranded baby dolphin was an unknown individual.
“The calf has the stress now of 24 hours with no food and no mum, having people around and exposed to the elements, so it started to show signs of fatigue and stress, and now we have absolutely no idea where mum is,” Mr Swan said.
“In consultation with the vet from Perth Zoo, it was decided the most humane thing to do was the euthanise the animal to avoid its suffering.”
The calf was sedated and transported onto the beach, where it was humanely euthanised.
“It was a horrible decision I had to make, I did not take any pleasure in that at all. It was not made lightly,” Mr Swan said.
“As the person who managed the whole incident, I want to thank the volunteers... I’m sure there’s people who won’t agree with my decision, but Parks and Wildlife and the Perth Zoo really appreciate that support and understanding we had from the community.”
