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Rescuers Defend Decision To Not Help Injured Gowanus Dolphin
By
Ben Yakas
Published Jan 27, 2013
Modified Jan 27, 2013
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By
Ben Yakas
Published Jan 27, 2013
Modified Jan 27, 2013
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On Friday, a dolphin who somehow ended up getting trapped in the Gowanus Canal died after a struggle to survive in the toxic waters. Onlookers noted that the animal was clearly injured ("You could see a stream of red in the wake”), and rescuers ultimately decided that they would wait until high tide before making any moves in the hope that the dolphin could free itself. Facing criticism, rescuers defended their decision to the Times: “If it’s not going to make it through the next tide cycle, it’s an animal that’s completely compromised,” said Riverhead Foundation director Robert DiGiovanni.
DiGiovanni said he and his team weighed out all the possible risks of trying to move the 345 pound, seven foot animal, including the possibility it would injure itself more in the process of capture, the logistics of safely removing it from the water (they'd need federal permission), the low survival rate of dolphins taken for rehabilitation (10 percent), and the possible dangers of the toxic water of the canal on staff members. The fact the dolphin was alone and so far up the canal (farther than he'd ever seen one) gave more credence to the theory it was mortally injured already.
“In many cases where there is a compromised animal and we intervene, they die as soon as we get them on the stretcher,” he noted. As for he toxic water, he said: “Is the water dangerous to get on your skin? If someone falls in the water and accidentally swallows some, are they in danger? If we were going to intervene and jump in, we would want to make sure that we had the protective equipment to deal with that scenario — all that takes time as well, which puts us back to our original plan.”
The dolphin died sometime before 6 p.m. Friday in the canal. Schyler Cox, who had climbed down a ladder by the side of the canal to see the dolphin, said it seemed very sick: “It was up on its side,” said Cox. “It looked like it was ready to give up.” Aaron Stewart-Ahn was there when it died: "Myself & an ecologist were there at the moment the dolphin died. He cried out. Lifeless breached on concrete piling. Police put up tape." He also captured video of a man who got in the water and comforted the animal just before its death:
Gowanus Dolphin moment of communion from Aaron Stewart-Ahn on Vimeo.
The body of the dolphin was removed from the water on Saturday, and will undergo a necropsy today to try to determine for sure whether it was already sick when it entered the canal.
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Ben Yakas
Ben Yakas is a former Gothamist reporter.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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