Long Beaked Common Dolphin (Delphinus capensis) Beaching

Observation: Locals have made it clear that dolphins had never beached themselves in the area before to their knowledge.

Ocean Integrity Research Consult: One known source of mortality of dolphins in South Africa is bycatch in shark nets (Atkins et al. 2013), but the cause of mortality of this specimen is not known. Based on the photograph provided, this species is a LONG-BEAKED COMMON DOLPHIN – Delphinus capensis (Ambrose et al. 2013).

Links

International Whale Stranding Network

Cetacean Stranding Wikipedia

References

Atkins, S., G. Cliff, and N. Pillay. 2013. Humpback dolphin bycatch in the shark nets in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. Biological Conservation 159:442-449.

Ambrose, S. T., P. W. Froneman, M. J. Smale, G. Cliff, and S. Plon. 2013. Winter diet shift of long-beaked common dolphins (Delphinus capensis) feeding in the sardine run off KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. Marine Biology 160:1543-1561.