New England Aquarium marine animal rescuers and researchers, along with other collaborators, have recently published some very promising results in the journal Marine Mammal Science. The paper reports on the believed successful release of dolphins that were reintroduced into the wild after surviving a mass stranding event.

File: Atlantic white-sided dolphin seen during an Aquarium Whale Watch (Photo: M. Rocha)


The two dolphin species in the study are found locally in Cape Cod, Massachusetts: the Atlantic white-sided dolphins (Lagenorhynchus acutus) and the short-beaked common dolphins (Delphinus delphis).

The specific rescue events examined in study range over the course of seven different mass stranding events occurring between 2005 and 2010. Using blood samples and the data results of tracking the satellite tags fixed to the dolphins during the stranding, it is believed that at least 10 of the 11 dolphins were likely successfully reintroduced into the wild!