GRAND ISLE, La. (WGNO) — A dolphin mother and her calf were rescued from a pond system near Grand Isle after apparently getting trapped during Hurricane Ida.
Staff with the Audubon Nature Institute said the pair was presumed to have been out-of-habitat due to storm surge and coastal flooding during the hurricane.
They said Audubon’s Coastal Wildlife Network has been monitoring the pair for over a year. They were waiting for the calf to be old enough to move to an area with access to open water.
According to institute staff, the pond where the pair was found had “ample” food supplies, salinity and tidal flow. It lacked, however, a pathway to the Gulf of Mexico.
Before being released, the mother was satellite-tagged so her post-rescue movements could be monitored. She will be tracked remotely for the next several months, providing data on the success of the rescue.
Institute staff said it’s common for storm surge and coastal flooding from a hurricane to cause marine mammals and sea turtles to get washed to shore and into inland waterways.
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