Rescuers free dolphins trapped in thick ice off Newfoundland, but whale succumbs

Despite a blizzard that was raging around them, she said that they had successfully freed five of what are believed to be white-beaked dolphins.

About 11 had been initially spotted over the weekend, but the rest are believed to have died, including one during the rescue attempt.

“There were only about eight still alive this morning,” Gear said. “It’s really heartbreaking … but there’s a huge community involvement. It’s unbelievable now the people who are pitching in and coming out.”

Gear said her husband had checked on the dolphins about four times Sunday night and then again Monday morning after they had been discovered late Saturday. She said they could hear the sound of the dolphins’ laboured breathing Sunday evening.

Wabana Mayor Gary Gosine said the island had experienced unusually thick ice that had also slowed the ferry that services the island. He said it’s been about seven years since they’ve seen ice so much in the area.

“I’ve never seen anything like this before,” he said about the trapped dolphins.

Thick ice had also trapped a large humpback whale in Cook’s Cove near Old Perlican, N.L., which has now died.

Wayne Ledwell of the Whale Release and Strandings group said the ice was too thick to navigate with an icebreaker to free the whale after it became trapped Friday. He said the roughly 14-metre adult whale had appeared to be having trouble breathing, based on the noise it was making. There was also a lot of blood on the ice where he had become stuck.

Margie Hopkins, Old Perlican’s town manager, said people were having trouble reaching the whale Monday because of the blizzard-like conditions. She said the ice had moved out, but the whale didn’t leave.

“There was no ice around him last night,” she said. “I’d say he was beached and really fatigued and didn’t have what it took to get out of it.”

She said the whale had been making “eerie” sounds that seemed to indicate it was in distress.

“It was like someone in distress,” she said. “It’s just a high-piercing, heart-tugging noise. It really sticks to you. It’s like a baby whining.”

A report from the Department of Fisheries and Oceans says there were two instances of large groups of animals becoming trapped and dying in pack ice in 2014 — one involving nine blue whales and the other involving 40 white-beaked dolphins.

– By Alison Auld in Halifax

The Canadian Press

by Canadian Press

Rescuers free dolphins trapped in thick ice off Newfoundland, but whale succumbs

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