BY DOMINIQUE GABRIEL G. BAÑAGA
BACOLOD City – A dead dolphin was found yesterday morning off the coast of Sagay City, Negros Occidental.
It was an adult male Common Bottlenose Dolphin measuring around 1.92 meters long and weighing about 90 kilograms, according to the Sagay City Environment and Natural Resources Office (SCENRO).
Jose Roberto Togle, Resource Management Section head of SCENRO, said a fisherman found the dolphin around 5:40 a.m. at Carbin Reef, part of the Sagay Marine Reserve.
The common bottlenose dolphin, which is the most widely recognized dolphin species, is found worldwide in warm and temperate seas.
Togle said they have yet to determine the dolphin’s cause of death, although an initial examination of its carcass revealed the dolphin might have been hit by a hard object.
Scratch marks on its left eye and nape and soft tissue at the back of the head were also found.
The dolphin was turned over to the Bantay Dagat Volunteers and SCENRO.
Togle also advised fishermen to immediately release mammals that might be trapped in their fishing nets./PN
