Residents woke up to the sight of dead dolphins on two consecutive days
PORT LOUIS, Aug 28 (NNN-AGENCIES) — The number of dolphins found dead in Mauritius, where the sea has been polluted following a huge oil spill last month, has risen to 25, causing more sadness and anger among locals.
A further seven dead dolphins were found on Thursday morning by residents off the south-east coast in Grand-Sable and Pointe-aux-Feuilles.
The mammals have been sent for a post-mortem examination to establish the cause of death.
A total of 18 dead dolphins had swept to shore on Wednesday, with environmentalists blaming their deaths on the oil spill caused by a Japanese-owned vessel that ran aground on coral reef on July 25.
The fisheries minister said that “at first glance” their deaths did not appear to be connected to the spill.
He said at least two of the dolphins had shark bites.
The carcasses are currently undergoing a post-mortem.
It is rare for so many dead dolphins to be found at the same time. Two were found in May 2019.
These are the first reported deaths of dolphins since the shipwreck. Up to now, many fish and crabs have been found dead.
The sight of the dolphins caused anger among residents.
“Waking up this morning to witness so many dead dolphins on our seashore is worse than a nightmare,” resident Nitin Jeeha said.
“I have seen around eight to 10 dead dolphins. Are there more in the lagoon?”
Although many of the dolphins were found dead, some were discovered weak or dying on the shore. — NNN-AGENCIES
