Stressed dolphin searching for her missing baby put to sleep on beach

A stressed dolphin who was looking for her missing calf had to be put to sleep after getting stuck on a beach at Crombie Point, Fife.

The concerned mother originally got stranded on the shore on Monday, but was able to swim away after being helped back into the Forth.

The dolphin got stuck again after returning to look for her baby the following day, which had already died.

Despite the efforts of the volunteers from the British Divers Marine Life Rescue to save her, it was found that the dolphin was severely stressed and had to be “humanely euthanised”.

British Divers Marine Life Rescue said: “Sadly, the common dolphin who was successfully refloated by our Marine Mammal Medics yesterday restranded herself this morning, again at Crombie Point not far from where she was initially discovered.

“The member of public reported she was foaming at the mouth and breathing rapidly in distress.

“When our medics arrived and reassessed her, it was clear her condition had considerably deteriorated from the day before, and due to the fact that it wasn’t exactly clear how long she had been beached for, the decision was made not to attempt a refloat.

“It’s uncertain whether she had restranded due to an underlying health condition from the previous stranding, or due to implications with her calf.

“She was humanely euthanised by a vet who attended from #SSPCA, and #SMASS will carry out a post-mortem on both mother and calf to try and determine why they stranded.

“We will post an update with any significant results.

“Thank you again to our medics who attended, and to #SSPCA and #SMASS for their assistance.”