News of a beached dolphin close to their school led some curious students of the Tanjay City Science High School to the shoreline of barangay Tugas in Tanjay City to catch a glimpse of the marine mammal.
Joining the growing crowd that gathered at the shore that noon, they saw the mammal and wished they could be of help. Before they knew it, they were part of the action–they found themselves in chest-deep water assisting the stranded Risso’s dolphin after they were deputized as Sea Scouts by Philippine Coast Guard Auxiliary 206th Squadron volunteer Sidney R. Lee.
The students, Carissa C. Borromeo, Danica B. Cornelio, Diana B. Cornelio, Kristine Mae R. Ebarita, Lorelie S. Calumpang and May Lynne S. Guevarra, all agreed that it was a “life-changing” experience.
The 8 footer sea mammal, also known as Grampus griseus, was estimated to weigh 170 kilograms. It had been there since early morning and was starting to show signs of fatigue and stress.
Lee said the first responders led by Jac Senagan of the 206th PCGA Search and Rescue Squadron needed extra hands to relieve them in keeping the dolphin afloat and wet without letting water in its blowhole. “Luckily, the science students were there in the nick of time willingly skipping a meal just to help.”
Ms. Angeline S. Dy, provincial president of the Philippine Marine Mammal Stranding Network gave everyone a crash course on proper stranded marine mammal supportive care.
The students named the dolphin “Amelia” after Amelia Earhart the first woman pilot to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean.
Dy, who suspected illness and malnutrition as the probable cause of the stranding, later on released Amelia to reunite with its pod in deeper waters, amid the cheers from the high school students.
“The students were so touched by their encounter with the dolphin that they all said they wanted to take up Marine Biology when they get to college,” Lee said.
Amelia was the second Risso’s dolphin that ran aground in Negros Oriental that week. Last Wednesday, another dolphin measuring 9 feet and 10 inches was stranded in the adjacent coastal city of Bais which has a booming eco tourism industry in whale and dolphin watching.
The dolphin was given care and later on released out to sea by members of the Philippine Coast Guard and the 206th PCGA Squadron together with city officials of the Bais City and the employees of the city tourism office.
