An Indo-Pacific bottlenose dolphin was on was on Sunday released back into the wild, one day after it was found stranded on a sandbar in Tainan’s Cigu District (七股).
The dolphin was initially rushed to the Marine Biology and Cetacean Research Center in the city’s Sicao District (四草), where conservationists examined it, but found no health abnormalities.
The animal was on Sunday afternoon released off Anping District (安平), marine-animal researchers from National Cheng Kung University said.
Photo courtesy of National Cheng-Kung University’s Marine Biology and Cetacean Research Center
The 2.5m-long dolphin weighed 160kg and showed no signs of trauma, the researchers said, adding that pulmonary and blood tests showed normal results.
“It was swimming normally in the center’s pool, and was making whistles and clicks like it would do in the wild,” the researchers said. “It was so full of energy, we had to sedate it to conduct tests, and even then, we could hardly restrain it.”
The dolphin’s release was coordinated with the Ocean Conservation Administration and the Coast Guard Administration, the researchers said.
Preparations for the release began on Sunday morning, they said, adding that the dolphin was released at 2pm off Anping, where the water is 145m deep.
The dolphin emerged 50m from the boat, swimming normally, they said.
People who find stranded or wounded marine animals should call the 118 hotline so that experts can help the animals, the researchers said.
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