Dead Humpback Dolphin washes up at Vasai beach

The Humpback Dolphin was found to have been injured on its beak; after several futile attempts to find an expert to conduct a postmortem, it was buried

The dolphin was spotted by a turtle respondents' group

The carcass of a Humpback Dolphin washed ashore at the Rajodi beach in Vasai on Thursday morning. The dead mammal was spotted by a turtle respondents' group active on this beach. It was found to have been injured on its beak. After several futile attempts to trace a qualified expert to perform a postmortem on the animal, it was buried on the beach by the authorities.

"There was an injury on the frontal portion of the animal," said N Vasudevan, Chief Conservator of Forest.

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Prashant Deshmukh, Range Forest Officer, said, "It was spotted at around 10 am by our turtle respondents' group. We tried hard to find experts who could perform a postmortem on it. But unfortunately, we have very few facilities here to study marine wild life. It was then buried."

Dr Dinesh Vinhankar, a veterinarian, throwing light on the lack of facilities, said, "Any veterinarian can perform a postmortem on a land as well as marine animal. However, even if samples are taken, there are very few pathologists who can examine them. There are hardly any opportunities as it is already difficult to spot such animals in India, or if found they may not be in a condition in which research can be done."

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A marine biologist, Mihir Sule, is one of those trying to change things. "We have started a network to spot and identify such animals. We are coordinating with the forest department. With increasing cases, the research opportunities will also increase."

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Humpback Dolphins
Humpback Dolphins are characterised by the conspicuous humps and elongated dorsal fins found on the backs of adults of the species. They are found close to shore along the coast of West Africa and right along the coast of the Indian Ocean from South Africa to Australia.

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