Three dolphins trapped for months in knee-deep Florida lagoon, state says. One died
Three dolphins may have been trapped for three months in a knee-deep Florida lagoon, resulting in one dying before they could be rescued, according to state officials.
The water was so shallow, drone video shows the two surviving dolphins were not completely submerged as they thrashed around in search of way back to open water.
Their predicament was discovered late Monday, Dec. 9, on a Gulf Coast island site near Matlacha, the Lee County Sheriff’s Office said in a Dec. 11 news release. Matlacha is about a 125-mile drive south from Tampa.
“Witnesses reported seeing two dolphins stranded in a shallow water lagoon, deep in the mangroves,” the sheriff’s office said.
“The lagoon’s depth was only (2-3 feet) deep at high tide. ... Two (feet) of water or less in the (canals) leading to open water prevented the dolphins from escaping. Biologists believe the dolphins could have been stranded since — at least — a very high-tide in mid-November, or even as far back when water levels rose during Hurricane Milton in October.”
The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission suspects the three dolphins reached the lagoon around Oct. 9, when the Category 3 hurricane made landfall about 75 miles north of Matlacha near Siesta Key.
State biologists did not offer an estimate as to how long ago one of the dolphins had died. The cause of death was not released.
A rescue was mounted Dec. 11 for the two surviving dolphins, with county marine unit deputies and state biologists using shallow water boats to cross mangrove canals and mud flats, the sheriff’s office said.
Video shows more than 20 people jumped in the lagoon and used nets to herd the dolphins to a spot where they could be caught and lifted from the water.
“Both dolphins were placed on floating mats and pulled through over 300 yards of mud and muck, and then towed by boat to deeper waters,” the sheriff’s office says.
“Biologists evaluated the dolphins, applied satellite tags, and they were released back into deeper water in Matlacha Pass.”
The Brookfield Zoo Chicago-Sarasota Dolphin Research Program, Mote Marine Lab and Clearwater Marine Aquarium were part of the operation, the state says.
FWC encourages the public to report sick, injured, distressed, or dead marine mammals to the marine mammal hotline at 1-800-404-FWCC.
This story was originally published December 12, 2024 at 6:45 AM with the headline "Three dolphins trapped for months in knee-deep Florida lagoon, state says. One died."