By Jinky Tabor
SAN ANDRES, Catanduanes – Nine from a group of dolphins died after they were stranded at the seawaters off Brgy. Bon-ot here yesterday.
In an interview with the Manila Bulletin, fisherman Romeo Del Rosario said they first saw a group of Dolphins swimming towards the seashore early morning yesterday and counted 30 heads but Brgy. Chairman Gaspar Santelices said residents saw more dolphins at around 10 a.m. giving an approximate of more or less 70 head counts of the sightings.
Residents and local government unit personnel, along with the Philippine Coast Guard, assisted the dolphins in getting back to the sea but some of the dolphins were able to swim towards the mangrove area near the boundary of Barangay Yocti and Bon-ot.
Nine were found dead by the search and rescue team at the mangrove area.
Sanday Solero from the fisheries department of the San Andres local government said the pod was chasing a group of tamban for food until they reached the shallow part of the sea. “They might have been stressed,” Solera added.
Authorities found cuts on the bodies of the dolphins but none was found to be the cause of death. They also did not have anything inside their bellies that might have caused their deaths.
The dolphins were buried in the seashore of Bon-ot.