A mother dolphin and her calf have been rescued and released back to the ocean nearly two years after being stranded. Wildlife officials believe the mother and her baby became trapped in a Louisiana pond system after Hurricane Ida hit the state in 2021.
The Audubon Coastal Wildlife Network and other wildlife experts rescued the dolphins from the pond near Grand Isle on June 17.
"The pair was presumed to have been out-of-habitat due to storm surge and coastal flooding associated with Hurricane Ida," the Audubon Nature Institute wrote Wednesday on Facebook. "CWN has been monitoring the pair for more than a year, waiting for the calf to be old enough to move to an area with access to open water."
The Nature Institute said that the dolphins had "ample food supplies, salinity and tidal flow" where they were stuck in the months after Ida hit, but that they didn't have a way to get back to the Gulf of Mexico once the water had receded.
Hurricane Ida hit Louisiana as a Category 4 storm in August 2021 – on the anniversary of Hurricane Katrina – leaving millions without power and devastating communities. At least 91 people died because of the storm. Grand Isle, where the dolphins were found, was dealt a massive blow from the storm, with officials saying in its aftermath that the once "remote oasis" was made "uninhabitable."
And the town is still recovering, as NOLA.com reports that all of the structures on the isle were damaged, with 700 completely destroyed.
The dolphins have seemingly been along for the ride in the area ever since the storm hit.
Video of the dolphin rescue shows teams hauling the dolphins out of the water where they were stuck and loading them into a van, where they kept them coated in water so that they could breathe during the commute. Once they arrived at the Gulf, the dolphins were gently released back into the wild.
Audubon Coastal Wildlife Network Rescues Dolphin and Her Calf in Grand IsleOn June 17th, Audubon Coastal Wildlife Network (CWN) and their partners in the Southeast Region Marine Mammal Stranding Network rescued and released a dolphin and her calf that were trapped in a pond system near Grand Isle, Louisiana. The pair was presumed to have been out-of-habitat due to storm surge and coastal flooding associated with Hurricane Ida.CWN has been monitoring the pair for more than a year, waiting for the calf to be old enough to move to an area with access to open water. The pond where the mother and calf were found had ample food supplies, salinity and tidal flow but did not have pathways to the Gulf of Mexico. The rescue team was coordinated by NOAA Fisheries Service in partnership with Audubon Coastal Wildlife Network (CWN), National Marine Mammal Foundation, SeaWorld Orlando, The Institute for Marine Mammal Studies, Dauphin Island Sea Lab, and South Carolina Aquarium.It is common for storm surge and increased coastal flooding associated with hurricanes to cause marine mammals and sea turtles to strand on land or be washed into inland waterways where they are not typically observed, such as lakes, ponds, and canals. Animals may be found in these areas for weeks to months following the hurricane, requiring rescue by trained and authorized responders to return them to their natural habitat. The public is advised to report all stranded or out-of-habitat marine mammals and sea turtles (live or dead) to CWN at 877-942-5343.
Posted by Audubon Nature Institute on Wednesday, June 28, 2023
And situations such as this happen often, the Nature Institute said.
"It is common for storm surge and increased coastal flooding associated with hurricanes to cause marine mammals and sea turtles to strand on land or be washed into inland waterways where they are not typically observed, such as lakes, ponds, and canals," the New Orleans-based organization said. "Animals may be found in these areas for weeks to months following the hurricane, requiring rescue by trained and authorized responders to return them to their natural habitat."
Li Cohen is a social media producer and trending content writer for CBS News.
