Rescuer's relief as stranded Lough Foyle dolphins saved

Two dolphins that became beached on the shores of Lough Foyle have been returned to sea after a five hour rescue effort.

The Risso’s dolphins were discovered on the foreshore near Balls Point, County Londonderry, on Monday morning.

The Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (Daera) said its marine conservation team and members of the public were involved in the rescue.

Risso’s dolphins are not a common visitor to Northern Ireland shores, the department said.

A Daera spokeswoman said several members of the public worked to keep the dolphins cool while marine experts assessed how to rescue the animals.

The younger of the Risso’s was refloated first, she said, before an attempt was made to rescue the “older, thinner dolphin”.

“This animal was noticeably underweight and heavily scarred after years of interacting with other dolphins and feeding on squid,” the spokeswoman said.

She added: “To everyone’s surprise, it recovered faster than the younger dolphin and quickly joined the first animal”.

The area, she said is being monitored because of the possibility of a re-stranding.

Mel McKee from the Dog Leap Animal Charity praised the quick action of a local mum and daughter who first raised the alarm.

She said they also both worked to “continually splash sea water over the two animals' skin” to keep the animals alive.

"When I got there, the tide was really far out and both animals were really dry, struggling to breath and looked in a very bad way," Ms McKee said.

Ms McKee, who said her charity is more used to working with cats and dogs, said after about five hours, and with the tide turning in their favour, the animals were able to be ushered out to sea.

"I'm just very happy that both dolphins were able to be rescued, any animal that needs help we will always do our best to assist them, and I'm just really thankful that this had a happy ending," she said.

According to the Daera website, if you find a beached cetaceans (dolphin, porpoise or whale) that is still alive, you should do the following:

• You should contact Daera on 0800807060 or the British Divers Marine Life Rescue (BDMLR) on 01825765546 and alert them to the beached animal

• If possible, stay with the animal until the rescue team arrives and avoid direct contact with your bare hands

• Do not attempt to put the animal back into the sea without advice from officials.

• Maintain control and keep other people and dogs away from the scene as this may result in increased stress or injury to the animal. Every movement around a stranded animal should be quiet, calm and gentle. Excessive noise and disturbance will only stress it further.

• Keep the animal’s skin on its body wet and shaded to prevent the skin cracking and keeping the animal as cool as possible

• Do NOT cover, or let water into the blowhole (nostril), sited on top of the animal’s head. These animals breathe air, and water inside the blowhole will cause the animal great distress and could even kill it.

• Keep away from the animal's tail, as it can inflict serious injuries – this is particularly the case with whales. Also avoid the animal’s breath, as it may carry some potentially nasty bacteria.

If you come across a dead marine animal (whale, dolphin, porpoise, seal, shark or marine turtle) located on Northern Ireland shores contact the Daera Marine Wildlife Team so they can record this for scientific purposes.